Ingredients

• 1 pint shucked oysters with their liquor
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1/2 cup chicken stock or milk
• 1/2 cup cream
• Salt and ground black pepper
• Hot sauce
• Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 small eggplant, peeled and diced (about 2 cups)
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 ounces finely chopped tasso (about 3 tablespoons)
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh sage
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
• 1/2 cup dry bread crumbs
• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
• 1 tablespoon butter, melted
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 ounces Grana Padano or Parmesan cheese, grated (1⁄4 cup)

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Butter a 2-quart baking dish and set aside. Pour the oysters into a bowl and check for bits of shell. Strain the oyster liquor through a fine sieve into a small bowl and set aside. Set drained oysters aside in a small bowl.

Melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat and whisk in the flour. Whisk in the reserved oyster liquor and stock. Increase the heat to medium-high and bring the mixture to a boil, whisking constantly. Whisk in the cream. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer gently, stirring from time to time, until the sauce thickens, about 10 minutes. Season the sauce with salt, pepper, hot sauce, and nutmeg. Remove the pan from the heat and cover to keep the sauce warm.

Heat the extra-virgin olive oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add the eggplant and cook, stirring often, until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Stir in the onion, tasso, garlic, sage, and rosemary. Cook until the eggplant is tender, 5 to 7 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer the eggplant mixture into a colander to drain for 5 minutes. Stir together the crumbs, parsley, melted butter, oil, and cheese in a small bowl and set aside.

To assemble the gratin, spread about one-third of the oyster liquor sauce in the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Spoon the eggplant mixture into the dish. Arrange the oysters in a single layer over the eggplant mixture and drizzle with the remaining sauce. Sprinkle the crumb topping over the entire dish. Bake until golden brown and bubbly, 10 to 15 minutes. Serve hot.

Epicurious

Ingredients

• 2 cups day-old bread, cut into 1-inch dice
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 pounds cooked field peas (crowder, black-eye, lady-peas)
• 1 cup thinly sliced green onions
• 1/2 cup thinly sliced red onion
• 1 cup diced tomato
• 1 cup peeled, diced cucumber
• 1/2 cup chopped banana peppers
• 1/4 cup each chopped rosemary and parsley
• 2/3 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup sherry or balsamic vinegar
• 1 tablespoon local honey
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt

Preparation

Preheat oven to 275 degrees. Spread the diced bread on a sheet pan and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until very lightly toasted. Set aside to cool. Place the field peas, green and red onions, tomatoes, cucumber and chili peppers in a large mixing bowl. Add the herbs, olive oil, vinegar, honey and salt, toss well. Add the bread and toss everything together. Serve with grilled fish, chicken, pork or as a vegetarian main course.

Edible Nashville

Ingredients

CRUST

• 1 cup walnuts 1/2 cup raw unsalted sunflower seeds 1/2 cup medjool dates 1/4 teaspoon sea salt

FILLING

• 4 local ripe peaches
• 1 cup multicolored raisins
• 5 medjool dates
• 1/4 cup bourbon
• 1/4 cup blackstrap molasses
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1/2 cup nuts (walnuts or almonds are best)
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice

Preparation

Pulse all crust ingredients in food processor until crumbly dough forms. Press into pie pan and set aside.

Large dice ripe peaches and transfer to mixing bowl. In food processor, pulse pitted dates, lemon, bourbon, and maple until mostly smooth. Pour into mixing bowl and toss peaches, raisins, 1/2 cup of nuts, until well-covered. Pour into pie pan over crust and drizzle molasses.

Edible Nashville

Ingredients

• 1 small butternut squash, peeled, diced
• 1 onion, chopped
• 6 garlic cloves
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 granny smith apples, peeled and chopped
• 6 cups chicken or vegetable stock
• ½ cup heavy cream
• ½ cup coconut milk
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 2 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
• Garnish: crème fraiche and sweet chili sauce

Preparation

Preheat oven to 400F. Toss squash, onion and garlic with olive oil and spread in a roasting pan or baking sheet. Season with salt and pepper. Roast for 20 minutes, add diced apple, and continue roasting another 10-20 minutes.

Place squash mixture into blender with about half the chicken stock; puree. Add remaining chicken stock, cream, coconut milk and herbs; pulse until smooth. Alternatively use an immersion blender.

Return to saucepan and reheat. Serve with a dollop of crème fraiche and garnish with sweet chili.

Edible Nashville

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 sweet potatoes, cubed
• 1 teaspoon each cinnamon, nutmeg, cayenne pepper
• 1 tablespoon curry powder
• 1/2 tablespoon each black pepper and Himalayan pink sea salt
• 32 ounces vegetable broth
• 1 cup red lentils
• 4 kale or turnip green leaves, ribs removed and chopped

Preparation

In a dutch oven or soup pot, heat olive oil on medium/ high. Add onions and cook for about 3-5 minutes or until transparent. Add garlic and cubed sweet potatoes. Stir until ingredients are incorporated and cook for 5 minutes. Add seasonings and stir well. Pour in vegetable broth and bring to a boil. Once boiling, stir and reduce to simmer. Add lentils. Cover and cook for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove lid and add in kale. Cook for an additional 5 minutes until kale has wilted a bit but not lost its vibrant color. Remove from heat and serve warm.

Edible Nashville

Ingredients

• 1 small (7-ounce) can chipotle chiles in adobo
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 carrots, peeled and chopped
• 2 onions, peeled and chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 cup red wine
• 2 jalapeño peppers, seeded and chopped
• 1 pound dry black beans (do not soak)
• 2 quarts mild vegetable or chicken stock
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano, preferably Mexican
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• Red wine vinegar, to taste
• Pickled onions, cilantro, sour cream, avocados (optional, for garnish)

Preparation

Empty the can of chiles into a blender or food processor. Purée until smooth, scrape into a container, and set aside. Put on a teakettle of water to boil, and keep hot.

In a large, heavy pot, heat olive oil over medium heat until shimmering. Add carrots, onions and garlic and cook, stirring, until softened but not browned, 5 to 8 minutes.

Pour in wine and let simmer until pan is almost dry and vegetables are coated. Add jalapeños and cook, stirring, just until softened, 2 minutes. Push the vegetables out to the edges of the pot and dollop 2 teaspoons of chipotle purée in the center. Let fry for a minute and then stir together with the vegetables.

Add beans, stock, oregano and bay leaves. Stir, bring to a boil, and let boil 10 to 15 minutes. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook, partly covered, stirring occasionally and adding hot water as needed to keep the soup liquid and runny, not sludgy. Continue cooking until beans are just softened and fragrant, 1 to 2 hours. Add salt and pepper and keep cooking until beans are soft.

Meanwhile, make the pickled onions, if using: In a bowl, combine sliced onions, lime juice and a sprinkling of salt. Let soften at room temperature until crunchy and tart, about 30 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water. Squeeze dry in paper towels and refrigerate until ready to serve. If desired, chop coarsely before serving.

Adjust the texture of the soup: The goal is to combine whole beans, soft chunks and a velvety broth. Some beans release enough starch while cooking to produce a thick broth without puréeing. If soup seems thin, use an immersion blender or blender to purée a small amount of the beans until smooth, then stir back in. Continue until desired texture is reached, keeping in mind that the soup will continue to thicken as it sits.

Heat the soup through, taste and adjust the seasonings with salt, pepper, drops of red wine vinegar and dabs of chipotle purée.

Julia Moskin, New York Times

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup hot strong coffee
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1 ounce gold rum
• 1 ounce dark rum
• 1 small cinnamon stick
• 1 long strip of orange zest, plus finely grated zest, for garnish
• Sweetened whipped cream and grated Mexican chocolate, for garnish

Preparation

In a heatproof glass, stir the coffee and sugar until the sugar dissolves. Stir in both rums. Add the cinnamon and the strip of orange zest. Garnish with whipped cream, grated Mexican chocolate and grated orange zest.

Food & Wine

Ingredients

• pork belly
• 1 cup warm water (105-115°F), divided
• 1/2 teaspoon active dry yeast
• 3 tablespoons sugar plus a pinch
• 2 tablespoons nonfat dried milk
• 3 1/2 cups cake flour (not self-rising)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• Canola oil for greasing and brushing
• hoisin sauce; thinly sliced cucumber; chopped scallions cucumber scallions (for serving)

Preparation

Stir together 1/4 cup warm water with yeast and pinch of sugar. Let stand until foamy, 5 to 10 minutes. (If mixture doesn’t foam, start over with new yeast.) Whisk in dried milk and remaining 3/4 cup warm water.

Stir together flour and remaining 3 tablespoons sugar in a bowl, then stir in yeast mixture (do not add baking powder yet) with a fork until a dough forms. Knead dough with your hands in bowl until all of flour is incorporated. Turn out dough onto a floured surface and knead, dusting surface and hands with just enough flour to keep dough from sticking, until dough is elastic and smooth but still soft, about 5 minutes. Form dough into a ball.

Put dough in an oiled large bowl and turn to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and let dough rise in a draft-free place at warm room temperature until doubled, about 2 hours.

Punch down dough, then transfer to a lightly floured surface and flatten slightly into a disk. Sprinkle baking powder over center of dough, then gather edges of dough and pinch to seal in baking powder. Knead dough with just enough flour to keep dough from sticking until baking powder is incorporated, about 5 minutes. Return dough to bowl and cover with plastic wrap, then let dough stand 30 minutes.

Cut 16 (3- by 2-inch) pieces of wax paper.

Form dough into a 16-inch-long log. Cut into 16 equal pieces, then lightly dust with flour and loosely cover with plastic wrap. Roll out 1 piece of dough into a 6- by 3-inch oval, lightly dusting surface, your hands, and rolling pin. Pat oval between your palms to remove excess flour, then brush half of oval lightly with oil and fold in half crosswise (do not pinch). Place bun on a piece of wax paper on a large baking sheet and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Make more buns with remaining dough, then let stand, loosely covered, until slightly risen, about 30 minutes.

Set a large steamer rack inside skillet (or wok) and add enough water to reach within 1/2 inch of bottom of rack, then bring to a boil. Carefully place 5 to 7 buns (still on wax paper) in steamer rack (do not let buns touch). Cover tightly and steam over high heat until buns are puffed and cooked through, about 3 minutes. Transfer buns to a plate with tongs, then discard wax paper and wrap buns in kitchen towels (not terry cloth) to keep warm. Steam remaining buns in 2 batches, adding boiling-hot water to skillet as needed.

Return buns (still wrapped in towels) to steamer rack in skillet and keep warm (off heat), covered.

Brush bottom half of each bun with hoisin sauce, then sandwich with 2 or 3 pork slices and some cucumber and scallions.

Gourmet, October 2007

Ingredients

for the glaze

• 1/4 cup whole milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 8 ounces powdered sugar, about 2 cups

for the bonut

• 2 quarts peanut oil
• 12 ounces all-purpose flour, plus an additional 1/2 cup for dusting
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 ounce unsalted butter, chilled
• 2 ounces shortening, chilled
• 1 cup low-fat buttermilk, chilled

Preparation

Heat the peanut oil over high heat in a large Dutch oven fitted with a fry/candy thermometer. Bring the oil to 350 degrees F while you prepare the biscuit dough. Keep an eye on it though as it’s easy to shoot through the target temp. When I get to about 300 degrees F, I back off on the flame a bit.

Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together in a large mixing bowl.

Using your fingertips, rub the butter and shortening into the dry goods until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. You don’t want the fat to melt so work fast and only with your fingertips.

Make a well in the middle of this mixture and pour in the buttermilk. Stir with a large spoon or rubber spatula until the dough just comes together. Then hand-knead in the bowl until all the flour has been taken up.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, gently flatten it then fold over book-style, repeating 8-10 times, until the dough is soft and smooth.

Press the dough into a 1-inch-thick round. Cut out dough using a 2 1/2-inch doughnut cutter or pastry ring and using a 1-inch ring for the center whole. Make your cuts as close together as possible to limit waste. Re-roll and cut as many donuts as possible. Whatever scrap is left should be cut and formed to match the “holes,” which is why in the end you’ll have more holes than bonuts.

Fry the donuts 3 to 4 at a time, for 1-2 minutes per side. When the cold dough hits the fat, the temperature is going to fall quickly so you’ll want to boost the heat and keep an eye on the thermometer.

Remove the golden brown rings-of-wonder to a cooling rack inverted over a paper towel lined half sheet pan and cool for 2 minutes.

Microwave the milk in a large heat-proof bowl for 15 seconds. Whisk in the vanilla and the powdered sugar until smooth.

Gently dip one side of each “bonut” into the glaze, give it a twist then lift straight out. Allow the excess to drain off then flip glaze side up on the cooling rig. To glaze the holes (that little center thing you cut out and would never waste), I usually drop them in then lift them out with a dinner fork. Or…just go bobbing for them.

Alton Brown

Ingredients

• 7/6 c. butter
• 1/4 c. white sugar
• 1 1/4 c. flour
• 1/2 c. brown sugar
• 2 tbsp. light corn syrup
• 1/2 c. sweetened condensed milk
• 1 1/4 c. dark chocolate chips

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 F. Mix together sugar, flour, and 2/3 c. of the butter until evenly crumbly. Press into a 9" square baking pan. Bake for 20 minutes. In a saucepan, combine remaining 1/2 c. butter, brown sugar, corn syrup, and condensed milk. Bring to a boil, and continue to boil for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and beat vigorously with a wooden spoon for about 3 minutes. Pour over crust (warm or cool). Cool until it begins to firm. Melt chocolate chips, pour over the top of the caramel, and spread. Chill and cut into squares.

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