Muscadine & Ricotta on Rye

Do you know what a muscadine is? It is okay if the answer is no, considering most southerners would answer the same.

My childhood included a giant muscadine vine in the back yard, and most years it produced plethora of the juicy fruits. We had so much fruit growing in the backyard, my mother and I even tried our hand at making muscadine wine. It may have turned out a little on the vinegary side.

A muscadine is the south’s version of a grape but gooier and a bit more tart. They are in season right now and can be found by the carton full at your local farmer’s market. I naturally scooped up more than I could reasonably use in one recipe because finding them inspired me to create.

You can eat them like a grape, but after years of tasting the unique fruit, I can advise you that straight off the vine is not the best option. Roasting them at a high temperature breaks down some of the fibrous material and subdues the chewy fruit. It also adds to the overall flavor since by roasting you are caramelizing the natural sugars.

You can do a lot with a raw or roasted muscadine, but for this years bounty a muscadine toast sounded like an interesting option. A quick call to one of my all-time favorite Savannah restaurants, Cotton & Rye, and I scored a gigantic warm loaf of fresh baked rye bread.

The last ingredient I selected to round out the flavors was fresh, creamy ricotta with a squeeze of lemon.

I think you will find this recipe simple, unique, and quite delicious. Since muscadines are so unique and often difficult to find, I would love to hear you ideas on how to use the fruit.

Muscadine Toast

The finished toast on a tray

Ingredients

1 Pound of Fresh Muscadines
1 Small Loaf of Rye Bread, sliced
1 Lemon
250g of Fresh Milk Ricotta
Flake Salt
Olive Oil

Instructions

First prepare your ricotta. Zest and juice the lemon then combine with the ricotta. Set aside.
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.
Rinse the muscadines and allow the to dry.
Place the muscadines on a cookie sheet, then coat with olive oil and salt and pepper.
Roast for approximately 20 minutes.
While the muscadines roast, prepare the bread.
Toast the rye bread in a toaster until golden brown and crispy.
Slather each toast with prepared ricotta and three to four roasted muscadines.
Finish the toast with a sprinkle of finishing salt.
*Optional, you can also finish the toast by sprinkling over microgreens.

https://epicuropedia.com/2019/08/27/muscadine-ricotta-on-rye/

This recipe is copyrighted

For another childhood southern recipe click here.

Cajun Meat Bread

Featuredby Lindy MoodyLeave a Comment

Most southern food is bone sticking and hearty. A style that can be contributed to the economics of survival.

This recipe is not different. A full loaf of bread is stuffed with meats, cheeses, and vegetables before being baked off. The result is a spicy gooey filled bread that acts as the perfect appetizer for any party.

This is a dish that I have eaten since I was a little girl, even considering it is difficult to find many versions of it in cookbooks or online.

Everyone in my family loves it. It originates from my Aunt’s mother, Mary Joyce, who is Cajun through and through. It is one of those items that is always present at family gatherings – especially large ones. A fact that is evident by the size of the portions used in the original recipe that was given to me:

Personally, I do not cook for 80-100 people. I have a small family. So, the challenge with recreating this recipe was doing so in a way that would feed a smaller group. Lets say 10-12 people.

During my first test run of the condensed version of this recipe, I realized that the original recipe was missing some important instructions. A lack of instruction can easily be attributed to the fact that May Joyce has made this time and time again, so writing down all of the finite details was not something she needed to do. She has them all memorized.

To fill in the gaps, I did a little digging. I found a recipe for creole meat bread by Emeril Lagasse, click here.

There is a large difference in creole and cajun food. Creole food is the result of many nationalities who settled in New Orleans. In many creole recipes you will find inspiration from West African, Spanish, Haitian, French, and many other cultures.

Cajun food comes from the Acadian people and has a French influence. You will find Cajun food primarily outside of the city…where my family lives.

Comparing the two, although one cajun and one creole, helped fill in some of the gaps.

I present my version of meat bread. Of course it will never be good as the original I ate growing up. It is not easy to include the love that is thrown into every family recipe that is made for you, instead of by you.

For another Louisiana inspired recipe, click here.

Cajun Meat Bread

finsihed sliced and plated meat bread

Ingredients

1 Pound of Ground Beef
1 Pound of Andouille Sausage, cut into small squares
1 Large Onion, peeled and diced
1 Large Bell Pepper, seeded and diced
2 Jalapeno Peppers, seeded and diced
2 Cloves of Garlic, peeled and minced
1 Tablespoon of Hot Sauce
1 Teaspoon of Cajun Seasoning
2 Small Cans of Mushrooms
1 Cup of Shredded Cheddar Cheese
1 Cup of Shredded Swiss Cheese
1 Cup of Shredded Parmesan Cheese
4 Balls or Loaves of Frozen French Bread Dough
Salt and Pepper to Taste

Instructions

Start by removing the dough from the freezer to allow it to defrost.
In a medium skillet, over medium heat, brown your ground beef. Breaking it up as it cooks.
Once browned, remove the beef from the skillet and leave the grease in.
In the leftover grease, sauté your onion, bell pepper, jalapenos, and sausage. Cook until everything is nicely browned. In the last two minutes of cooking, add in the garlic. Cook until the garlic is fragrant.
Remove pan from the heat and set it aside to allow the mixture to cool.
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Once the mixture has cooled, stir in the ground beef, hot sauce, Cajun seasoning, drained mushrooms, and all of the cheese. Mix until well combined.
Taste the mixture, and add salt and pepper as needed.
Assemble the bread by placing one of the dough balls on a well floured surface. Roll out the dough until approximately 24"x12". The measurements are not exact, and have some wiggle room.
Place 1/4 of your mixture into the center of the rolled out dough, and spread evenly. Leave a 1/2 inch border at the edges of the dough.
Fold the corners over, then gently roll up the filling and dough. You will roll from one long edge to the other.
Pinch the end of the roll into the dough to create a seal. If the dough does not seal, an egg wash will do it.
Place the rolled loaf on a sheet pan, seam side down.
Continue preparing the loafs until all of the loafs are filled and rolled.
Bake for approximately 30 minutes, or until nicely golden brown on the outside.
Some of the filling may ooze out, and that is okay.
Slice and serve while warm.

https://epicuropedia.com/2019/06/06/cajun-meat-bread/

This recipe is copyrighted

Recipes

Bananas Foster Monkey Bread

Featuredby Lindy MoodyLeave a Comment

Travel is the best way to draw inspiration in life. For me traveling means exploring the food of the city I am visiting. I spend hours of research mapping out my food journey to ensure I eat only the best the city has to offer. Oftentimes the result is overindulgence over a short period of hours.

Two weekends ago I found myself in New Orleans. One of my favorite southern cities of all time. I am lucky to have family in Louisiana which gives me more than enough legitimate reasons to explore the land of endless sugar cane fields. If you have never visited, I strongly urge you to add NOLA to your short list of destinations. Wrought with history and culture, the French influenced city has no shortage of things to see and do. Live music in every bar, towering historical buildings, and more voodoo shops that you can stand. I have been many times yet I have never seen the same thing twice.

Louisiana a state that is know for the origin of Cajun cuisine which is heavily influenced by Creole cooking with French technique. Technically, Cajun food did not start in Louisiana, but through immigrants who eventually settled in the state. And yes, there is a large difference in the Cajun and Creole, which I plan on breaching in a later post.

For now I would like to spend a little bit of time focusing on the Creole and French side of the state. The city folk, those in New Orleans, cook Creole food, unlike the country folk who cook Cajun. Since I spent time in the city, everything I ate could be considered Cajun—even the non-Cajun food—and here is why:

If you have ever visited New Orleans it is easy to see that the town is a culmination cultures created through the settlement of immigrants, which is still occurring today. There are more restaurants that a visitor could reasonably conquer, all of which are a different—even if only slightly. Restauranteurs present patrons with their interpretation of local food, adding in their own influences and ideas. This is a practice that has been occurring in NOLA since before my time. The food of our ancestors is not the food of our towns as we now know them.

A world-wide known dessert is the perfect example of the evolution of the food in NOLA. Bananas foster was created in New Orleans at famous New Orleans restaurant Brennan’s by Chef Paul Blange. Today you can still visit Brennan’s and try the food that has been nominated for multiple James Beard Awards. The recipe was created in 1951 and even published by the New York Times in 1957. The concept is simple: smother ripe bananas in butter, sugar, and liquor then set it aflame.

Although widely considered a traditional southern dish, by no means it is so in the literal sense of the word. The recipe was not contemplated until the mid 20th century. When comparing so many dishes that are said to be traditionally southern, bananas fosters is much younger than say hoppin’ john, which can be dated back to the 19th century.

This dish epitomizes both Southern and Louisiana cuisine, ever progressing into new fare that features a nod to the past. So why not draw inspiration from a City and State that has drawn culinary inspiration from it’s inhabitants, landscape, and visitors, and create something totally new from already known and loved recipe (also my husband begged me to make monkey bread, so the idea was streamline).

Many recipes call for canned biscuit dough. I believe that fresh is best, so my recipe makes the dough from scratch.

If you draw any inspiration from this post or recipe, I hope you take the idea of bananas foster and add it into a something to create a brand new dessert…or savory dish. I would love to hear about what you come up with!

Bananas Foster Monkey Bread

The baked bread cooling in the pan

Ingredients

For the Dough:
⅔ Cup of Warm Whole Milk, no higher than 110°F
1 Tablespoon of Sugar
1 0.25 Ounce Package Dry Yeast
3¼ Cups of Flour, divided
¼ Cup of Butter, melted
2 Large Eggs
1 Teaspoon of Salt
For the coating:
1 Cup of Light Brown Sugar
1 Tablespoon of Cinnamon
For the Bananas Foster:
4 Very Ripe Bananas, peeled and sliced
4 Tablespoons of Butter
1 Cup of Firmly Packed Light Brown Sugar
½ Cup of Heavy Whipping Cream, room temperature
3 Tablespoons of Bourbon
Pinch of Salt
4 ripe bananas, sliced

Instructions

Start by making the dough.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, pour in the milk then sprinkle over the yeast and sugar. Let sit for at least 10 minutes until the yeast is bubbly.
With the dough hook attached, turn the speed to low. Pour in 1 cup of flour, mixing until combine. Next the melted butter, and finish 1 cup of flour.
Mix in the eggs, then finish with the remaining flour and salt.
Once dough is fully combined turn the speed to medium and kneed for 3-5 minutes. A soft dough should form and pull away from the sides of the bowl.
Coat a large bowl with cooking spray. Place the dough in the bowl, coat with spray, and allow to rise, covered, in a draft free place for one hour or until double in size.
In a small bowl, combine the topping sugar and cinnamon. Mix until combined then set aside for later.
Prepare your bananas fosters. In a medium sauce pan, over medium-high heat, add brown sugar and butter. Cook for approximately 3-5 minutes until mixture is an amber color.
Remove from the heat and stir in the cream, salt, and bananas. Stir to fully coat bananas. Set aside and allow to cool.
Prepare a bundt pan by coating it in cooking spray.
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Once dough has doubled, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Gently shape dough into a ball.
Pinch off one inch pieces, roll them into a ball, then dunk them into the cinnamon sugar mixture.
Start assembling by placing a small amount of bananas fosters mix into the bottom of the pan.
Create a layer of dough balls in the bottom of the pan, then coat in your bananas fosters. Continuing layering dough and sauce until the pan is full.
Bake until golden brown, 35-40 minutes.
Let cool in the pan for at least 10 minutes before turning it out.
Eat!

https://epicuropedia.com/2019/04/19/bananas-foster-monkey-bread/

This recipe is copyrighted

Recipes

The Ultimate BLT

Featuredby Lindy MoodyLeave a Comment

A bacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwich is one of those dishes that instantly triggers nostalgia for me. A good BLT is one of my mom’s favorite foods, which means so often growing up she would throw together a BLT for our supper.

Her recipe did not require special ingredients or fancy techniques, just a bit more care. She would quickly pan fry some bacon, which she usually had on hand in the fridge, slice some tomatoes from the garden, and slather toasted white bread with mayo. After watching her prepare countless sandwiches I realized what made her homemade version my favorite version. Aside from the addition of love, my mom seasoned every layer of her sandwich with salt and pepper.

First the mayo is lacquered on the bread then hit with a sprinkling of seasoning, the next layer is added and seasoned, and so on. As you can imagine, building a sandwich with tomato that has a sprinkling of salt and pepper far exceeds a sandwich with plain tomato.

And although I feel that you can never go wrong with classic BLT, I wanted to push the limits on what a BLT can be. With that in mind, I did not want to change the backbones of the sandwich by adding or using a bunch of random things. In the south people love to throw a fried green tomato onto a BLT in an attempt to heighten the recipe–I was not about to do that.

My approach is to amplify the already existing ingredients of a BLT. Add some garlic to the mayo, use better tomatoes, etcetera.

I use this Balsamic Onion Jam recipe to make the jam I use on the sandwich.

A few notes:

Garlic confit can make you very sick if you do not cook it and store it properly. I recommend using it immediately and if you want to save it, freeze it.
I purchased a loaf of homemade bread from a local baker. I recommend opting for a better bread than normal sliced bread from the grocery store.
The true secret to making any BLT so much better is to salt and pepper every layer, even your smear of mayo.
Finally, bake your bacon. This is a trick I learned during my short time as a line cook. Most restaurants place bacon in a single layer on a sheet pan and bake it instead of pan frying it. It keeps the kitchen cleaner (bacon grease does not spatter everywhere) and you are able to tend to other things in the kitchen while the bacon bakes.

An Ultimate BLT

All of the prepared ingredients

Ingredients

2 Heirloom Tomatoes
1/2 Pound of Thick Sliced Bacon
8 Slices of Country White Bread
Balsamic Onion Jam, link to recipe can be found above
1 Head of Garlic
1/2 Cup of Olive Oil
1 Cup of Mayonise
1 Head of Romaine Lettuce
Salt & Pepper

Instructions

First, bake your bacon. Heat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Arrange your bacon in a single layer on a sheet pan, or two if needed. Bake for approximatley 45 minutes, or until bacon is the texture that you like.
While the bacon cooks, make the garlic confit. Peel the garlic cloves. In a small saucepan, combine your olive oil and peeled garlic.
Heat oil over medium low heat. Cook garlic until soft, approximate 45 minutes to 1 hour.
Once your bacon is cooked, remove it from the oven and let the bacon drain on paper towels.
With your cooked garlic, make your garlic aioli. Finely chop 3 cloves of garlic. Combine the chopped garlic with the mayonnaise and a pinch of salt and pepper. Store the remaining cooked garlic for another use.
Rinse off lettuce and tomatoes, then set aside to dry.
Slice the Romain lettuce into bread size pieces. Slice the tomatoes.
Toast your white bread.
Smear each piece of toast with maynaoise, then salt and pepper the mayonnaise.
Next place on your romaine, then a layer of bacon, and a layer of tomatoes. Salt and pepper your tomatoes.
Spoon over your balsamic onion jam. Finish the sandwhich by topping it with a piece of bread with mayonnaise.

https://epicuropedia.com/2019/02/09/the-ultimate-blt/

This recipe is copyrighted

Recipes

Lemon & Cream Cheese Babka

Featuredby Lindy MoodyLeave a Comment

I will be the first to admit that I am not a professional baker. I have baked for many, many years, but am in no way at the level of professional. I have just as many bad days in the kitchen as good ones.

This is especially true when it comes to yeast. Yeast is my kryptonite.
Anytime I go into the kitchen with plans to bake yeast risen bread, I am fully prepared to have the bake come out wrong. The silver lining is that you can always learn by messing up.

This past weekend may have been my worst weekend in the kitchen to date. I decided to challenge myself by attempting a Babka. A Babka is a traditional Jewish sweet yeast risen bread that is swirled with chocolate or cinnamon. The bread dough itself is basically a brioche dough. Technically speaking, it is medium of the difficulty of yeast breads.

Three days and four attempts is what it took to get this recipe right. I threw out two doughs and one finished loaf before the fourth and final loaf came out soft and pillow-like. So you do not make the same mistakes, I wanted to share what I learned from my experience. What else is a blog good for?

As for the filling, (per usual) I did not want to take the traditional route. My husband’s grandmother gave me a some homegrown lemons. Her lemon tree yielded for the first time this winter. Lemon is the perfect pick-me-up during the cold months when we lack sun and fresh ingredients. I juiced and zested them, combined them with softened cream cheese, then rolled the mixture up into the dough. My poor husband had to go to the store to get me more cream cheese after I threw out my third attempt.

The finished loaf is delightfully sweet, with a hint of tang. I think a glob of raspberry jelly would adorn a slice of fresh baked lemon cream cheese babka perfectly.

What I learned throwing out three batches of babka dough:

Batch one and two:

Always check your yeast. Yeast will last in the fridge, but of course not forever. Instead of wasting your time making an entire batch of dough to only realize that it will not rise, take the first 5 minutes and make sure the yeast you are using is alive. It is simple, always bloom your yeast in warm water or milk (depending on the recipe). If it sits for 5-10 minutes and it is not bubbly…your yeast is bad. If it is bubbly…it is living!
Make sure your ingredients are not cold. If you know you are baking with yeast, set out your eggs, flour (if you store it in the fridge), etc in advance to ensure it is they are room temperature. Cold items will slow down the growth of your yeast. Just like a warm environment will speed up the yeast’s growth.

Batch three:

Kneed your dough for longer that you think. Let me explain: Written recipes have various times for kneading dough with a stand mixer. Truly you can only tell when a dough is ready by touch or sight. Just because a recipe says knead for 5 minutes, does not mean that dough will be ready to rise after 5 minutes of kneading. It is easiest to tell when a dough is ready by kneading it by hand. If that is not you (me either), then you must look at your dough to see if it has been kneaded enough. If the recipe says the dough should “pull away from the bowl and form a soft smooth dough”, then make sure it does just that. Otherwise your finished bread will be more like cake than bread.
It often takes longer than the recipe says to let your dough double during a rise. Each home and each region is different. For example, I live in the deep south where it is humid. So during the summer it may take less time for my dough to rise. Right now it is dead of winter, and it took a bit longer for my dough to rise to double. My house was very cold. The moral of the story–watch your dough and only move on to the next step when the dough has actually doubled. Do not simply let it sit for the time designated in the recipe.
This is babka specific. Some methods call for slicing your rolled up dough down the middle then twisting it. Next, you stuff it into your bread pan to allow it to rise. The finished loaf has exposed filling on the top. The slicing method works great for certain fillings, but not all fillings. Cinnamon sugar or chocolate are ideal, cream cheese is not ideal to cook exposed to the heat of your oven. For my version I used a different method, I did not slice the dough. I rolled it up then twisted it together before placing it in the loaf pan. This way the filling stayed inside of the bread without being directly exposed to the heat of the oven. Consider the method of babka rolling you want to use based upon the type of filling you stick in your babka. Literally you can stuff anything inside a babka, sweet or savory.

Lemon & Cream Cheese Babka

Sliced loaf of babka being presented by the baker on a wood serving board

Ingredients

For the dough:
3 Cups of All Purpose Flour
1/2 Cup of Granulated Sugar
1/2 Cup of Warm Milk, between 100-110 degrees Fahrenheit
2 Eggs
1/2 Tablespoon of Yeast
Zest from 1 Lemon
1 Stick of Butter, softened
1/2 Tablespoon of Salt
For the filling:
1 Eight Ounce Block of Cream Cheese, softened
1 Lemon
1/4 Cup of Powdered Sugar
1 Teaspoon of Vanilla Extract

Instructions

In a small bowl bloom your yeast: Pour in warm milk then sprinkle your yeast over the top. Do not stir. Allow the yeast to bloom for approximately 5 minutes, or until small bubbles form.
While you yeast blooms, prepare your stand mixer. In the mixing bowl, with a dough hook attached, combine your flour and sugar.
After you yeast has bloomed, pour it into the flour mixture. Turn you stand mixer on low and allow it to begin mixing.
Next add in your eggs and vanilla. Mix until it all comes together. If the mixtures looks too dry and crumbly add in more milk.
Turn you mixer up to medium and add in your butter one tablespoon at a time. Let each piece of butter fully incorporate before adding the next. When you are ready to add in the last piece of butter, pour in your salt as well.
Knead the dough on medium speed for approximately 10 minutes, or until a smooth elastic dough that pulls away from the side of the bowl forms.
Place the finished dough in a bowl that is coated in cooking spray, then spray cooking spray over the top of the dough. Tightly cover the bowl with plastic wrap.
Allow the dough to rise, in a draft free place, for approximately 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours, or until doubled in size.
While you dough rises, create your filling.
In a small bowl, zest and juice your lemon.
Next, whisk in the remaining ingredients to the lemon filling until the mixture is smooth and fully combined. Set aside, covered, until ready to use.
Once the dough has doubled, gently turn it out onto a heavily floured surface.
With a floured rolling pin, roll the dough out to create a 16x12 inch rectangle.
Spread your lemon cream cheese filling onto the dough, leaving a 1/2 inch space around the outside of the dough.
Starting at the short side, roll up your dough like you would a jelly roll. Press the ends into the roll to seal.
Fold your roll in half, then twist the halves around itself at least four times.
Place the loaf into a greased bread pan. Loosely cover with plastic wrap and allow it to rise to double. At least 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours.
Once doubled, preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fairenhiet.
Bake the bread for 30 minutes on the middle rack. After 30 minutes, bake it for an additional 30 minutes covered in aluminum foil to avoid over browning.
A thermometer in the middle should read 190 degrees. If after an hour of baking the middle is not done, cook the loaf for an additional 10 minutes.
Let bread cool before slicing.

https://epicuropedia.com/2019/01/25/lemon-cream-cheese-babka/

This recipe is copyrighted

For more recipes click here.

Recipes

Ultimate Cornbread

November 6, 2018June 4, 2019by Lindy MoodyLeave a Comment

Officially, it is the time of year for parties, potlucks, family gatherings, and anything in-between. Fall is the time of year that I love most, mainly because all of the festivities gives me an excuse to cook – as if I needed one. For most cooks, the love of cooking comes from sharing your finished dish with others.

But with all of the doing and making everyone gets a bit tired, which is where quick and easy recipes come into play. A home cook can never have too many delicious quick recipes, the kind you lean towards when in a pinch or too busy to really put work into a dish.

A homemade batch of cornbread can easily fill in the gaps for any potluck or gathering. For me, the problem is that making perfect cornbread is not something I have mastered – until I came up with this recipe.

There are many schools of thought on cornbread; some like is sweet, some like it course, some like it filled with things, etc. Personally, I love the sweet version that comes straight from a box. I grew up eating sweet skillet cornbread, so anything short of what I grew up with was was never good enough.

Until this recipe, I did not know out how to make sweet cornbread that stayed together when sliced. And because everyone has their own preference in cornbread, I wanted to include as much in one recipe as possible…creating the ultimate cornbread.

My version uses honey as one of the sweeteners along with fresh sweet corn on the cob stirred right in. To balance everything out, fresh jalapenos are added for a little heat. Finally, smoked cheddar cheese is grated over the top to add a final layer of umami. As the cornbread cooks, the cheese becomes bubbly and browns on the top of the bread.

The best part, the dish takes only 15-20 minutes to mix together and bake – perfect for anyone in a pinch or just plain overworked.

Ultimate Cornbread

Ingredients

1 Stick of Unsalted Butter, Melted
1 Cup of Cornmeal
1 Cup of All Propose Flour
1 Egg
1/4 Cup of Honey
1/4 Cup of Sugar
1/2 Teaspoon of Salt
2/3 Cup of Milk
3 Teaspoons of Baking Powder
1 Jalapeno, seeded and diced
1 Corn on the Cob, kernels removed from the cob
4 Ounces of Smoked Mild Cheddar, grated

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
Prepare a medium cast-iron skillet or 9x9 pan by greasing it.
In a mixing bowl, stir together all of your ingredients except for your cheese. Mix until fully combined.
Pour the batter into your prepared pan.
Sprinkle the grated cheese over the top of your batter.
Bake the cornbread, on the middle rack, for 15 minutes.
Slice and serve warm.

https://epicuropedia.com/2018/11/06/ultimate-cornbread/

This recipe is copyrighted

Restaurant Reviews

The Grey Market

November 4, 2018June 26, 2019by Lindy MoodyLeave a Comment

IT WAS only last month that Netflix announced that its award-winning documentary series Chef’s Table would feature local Savannahian and prized chef Mashama Bailey and her business partner John O. Morisano.

The episode, premiering next year, is set to tell the story of how the two created the Savannah’s The Grey, and how Chef Bailey is the first African American woman nominated for and a finalist in the runnings for the James Beard Award for Best Chef: Southeast.

Chef Bailey ventured all the way down to Savannah from New York after connecting with Morisano, the brain behind the revamp of the old Greyhound bus station that now holds The Grey.

It goes without saying that The Grey and the team behind The Grey have helped put Savannah on the culinary map—finally! Chef Bailey showcases local ingredients and culture while bringing in inspiration from global influences.

The Grey houses two seating areas, each with their own menu, yet both offering patrons one of those dining experiences that you don’t forget.

Morisano is also from New York, so the idea to bring Savannah a third concept from The Grey team originated as he sat at a lunch counter in his home state.

“I went to a place in Washington Heights, a Dominican lunch spot, and I was like Savannah needs something like this,” he told me as we chatted at a high-top in his bustling new store front.

After visiting the one-of-a-kind new location, I couldn’t agree more that Savannah had a hole that is now filled by The Grey Market.

The concept of The Grey Market is simple—part store with high quality food related products and part restaurant with a food counter where you can perch and eat your lunch. Morisano explained the concept to me perfectly:

“Everything about this is a little familiar to Mashama and me, sort of like the bustling lunch counter with people almost throwing food at you.”

As for the bodega side, the thought was to aid those that work downtown and may need to stop into a store to grab one or two items.

You can also forgo stopping in to grab one or two items you forgot to pick up for dinner, and grab an entire precooked dinner created by The Grey. The market offers grab-and-go dinners (for an extremely reasonable price might I add) that usually features a meat, two sides, and bread.

“We tried it on the first night and it sold out immediately,” Morisano said, referencing the popularity of the family meals. Some of the items Morisano and Chef Bailey are considering featuring with the take-away meals include baked pasta, pork tenderloin, whole roasted fish, meatloaf, ribs, and fried chicken.

“All of the products that are in the market we [the Grey’s team] use. When we were talking about dry pasta, there was only one dry pasta in [his] grandmother’s Italian kitchen. Everything is picked that way,” Morisano explained describing the process of selecting products available for sale in the market.

Modeled after a true New York food hall counter, the menu is divided into breakfast, after 11 a.m., 4 p.m. to close, and all day items. You will also find baked goods and fountain sodas.

Also, the bagels are a big deal. “They are straight up New York bagels. Our baker is from New York, from the same borough of New York City I grew up in,” Morisano told me. I asked Morisano about why they chose New York style bagels over the rest.

He said, “in a way we don’t have a choice, we are all New Yorkers and do not know any other kind of bagel.”

Keeping true to The Grey’s northern roots, lox is offered alongside the bagels that are baked fresh daily. Chef Bailey’s version of lox is beet cured and served alongside cream cheese, red onion, and watercress.

Every single baked good, available in the store and both restaurants, is baked in-house on the top floor of the new marketplace.

I was told by Morisano that their NYC, a bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich, is another menu item that is 100 percent authentic to the big city. A true NYC bacon egg and cheese is served on a kaiser roll, and not a bagel or toast like so many southern versions.

“One of the thing Mashama and I knew had to be on the menu was a New York bacon egg and cheese,” said Morisano after I mistakenly asked if their version was served on a bagel. He told me you can get the sandwich on a bagel, but the true New York way is on a kaiser.

The Sizzlin’ Smoky Pig is a sandwich, on the All Day side of the menu, based on one of the original menu items served at The Grey, the Sizzlin’ Smokey Pig. It was pork served sizzling in a cast iron skillet with a cracked egg on the top. The new version features smoked pig, pepper relish, and a fried egg all served on a kaiser roll.

I asked Morisano what he personally picked to feature on the menu:

“I was interested in seeing how Mashama could take some of the things we cooked over at The Grey and use that as inspiration for doing things here…I was really interested in connecting the DNA of The Grey with The Grey Market.”

The Grey Market has a list of approximately thirty wines that was curated by the wine and beverage director Caleb. Per Morisano, “there are more fun and big wines here, we are not limiting ourselves to the old world wines like The Grey.”

So far The Market has hosted a few impromptu wine tastings, and plan on hosting more at the standing counter.

Original article is Here.

Recipes

Jerusalem Bagels with Burnt Honey Cream Cheese

August 24, 2018August 28, 2018by Lindy MoodyLeave a Comment

Savory, nutty homemade Jerusalem bagels and a side of decadent, condensed burnt honey creamed cheese–it’s a baking recipe that I know everyone will love.

I am super ecstatic about this post and sharing a recipe that I will be adding to my list of rotating go-tos. As someone who constantly cooks, I can state with confidence, on behalf of all of the home cooks out there, it is rare that you find a recipe that is both easy and a show stopper.

The recipe makes Jerusalem bagels, which are different from a normal bagel due to the lack of boiling. Even though the bagels are not boiled, the flavor is still amazing. They taste reminiscent of a bagel/pretzel hybrid. By forgoing the step of boiling, you are saving on time and work, hence making the process a lot easier.

I recommend you eat these warm out of the oven or warm them up if you are eating them at a later time. They go with just about anything, hummus, cream cheese, cheese, etc.

I wanted something sweet yet unique, so spruced up some cream cheese by making burnt honey. The process of “burning” honey is simply caramelizing it a bit, to give it a deeper more condensed flavor. A quick warning–once you eat honey like this you will never go back.

As for the topping, I glazed them with honey to add a bit of sweetness and keep with the honey theme and a sprinkling of sesame seeds to add nuttiness. The recipe is extremely versatile, serving as a great base for any topping or mix-in. In the future, I will be posting many more versions of Jerusalem Bagels.

Jerusalem Bagels with Burnt Honey Cream Cheese

Servings: 6

Jerusalem Bagels with Burnt Honey Cream Cheese

Ingredients

Bagel Ingredients:
1 Tablespoon of Quick Acting Yeast
1 1/2 Cups of Milk, warm but not higher than 100 degrees Fahrenheit
4 1/2 Cups of All Purpose Flour
2 Teaspoons of Sugar
2 Teaspoons of Salt
1 Teaspoon of Baking Powder
Olive Oil
4 Tablespoons of Honey
Sesame Seeds for Topping
Burnt Honey Cream Cheese Ingredients:
1 Block of Creamed Cheese, softened
1/2 Cup of Honey

Instructions

First make your burnt honey creamed cheese. Pour your honey into a small saucepan and heat over medium heat.
Cook the honey for about 10 minutes, until it turns a light amber color and thickens slightly. The honey will foam as it cooks, that is okay.
Once reduced, set aside to let the honey cool completely.
In a small mixing bowl, combine your burnt honey and creamed cheese. Stir to desired combination, swirled or fully mixed.
Place mixture in a sealable container and place in the fridge until ready to serve.
Begin making your bagels by blooming your yeast in the warm milk, allowing to sit for about 5 minutes.
In a stand mixer or large mixing bowl, mix together your flour, baking powders, sugar.
Pour in your bloomed yeast and milk, then mix until combined. Lastly mix in your salt as to not kill the yeast.
Add your dough hook to your stand mixer, and kneed the mixture on medium for five minutes. A soft pliable dough should form. If the dough looks dry, add more milk as needed.
After the dough has been kneaded, remove the dough from the mixer and rub on a light amount of olive oil.
Place coated dough in a large oiled bowl, cover tightly. Allow to rise for at least one hour, or until it has doubled in size.
Once the dough has risen, preheat your oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. Prepare two sheet pans by lining them with slip mats or greased parchment paper.
Gently remove the dough from the bowl, and section the dough into six even pieces.
On a lightly floured surface, roll each section of dough into a log that is about 12 inches long. Attach the ends together to create an oblong circle. Gently place on the prepared sheet pan.
After the bagels are prepared, allow them to rest for 15 minutes.
Before baking, slather each bagel with honey and a sprinkling of sesame seeds.
Bake for 10 - 15 minutes, or until a golden color and cooked through.
Serve with burnt honey creamed cheese.

https://epicuropedia.com/2018/08/24/jerusalem-bagels-burnt-honey/

This recipe is copyrighted

Recipes

Chorizo Chipotle Jack Pull-Apart Bread

May 24, 2018August 27, 2018by Lindy Moody3 Comments

It was only a few short years ago that I discovered Chorizo. After tasting the spicy flavor filled Spanish meat, I felt like I was deprived for so many years.

So anytime I come across fresh, not cured, chorizo I love to buy it up and store it in the freezer; keep it on reserve for a gluttonous cooking day.

That day came not too long ago as I was attempting to use some leftover jack cheese purchased in a variety pack. Living in a household of just two proves difficult to not waste food or leftovers.

My husband and I, and even a few friends, powered through several varieties of jack cheese from the pack, but could not finish it all. What remained was a very spicy chipotle jack cheese. Luckily for me, I had some frozen chorizo to pair with it when I decided to come up with a recipe to use the leftover cheese.

The result was more delicious than I imagined…the best part of cooking is tasting the finished experimental product and realizing everything was a success.

Casseroles and soups are an easy way to use of leftover items because of the ability to throw random things into the mixture. Sometimes even bread is a great vessel to throw some random ingredients into and see what you come up with. An in this case, bread was the perfect way to use up my leftover cheese and frozen chorizo.

Do not worry, if you do not have chipotle jack cheese you can substitute it for any type of jack cheese. Same goes if you do not like spicy food.

The recipe creates two normal sized loafs, so you will need two loaf pans

Chorizo and Chipotle Jack Pull-Apart Bread

Ingredients:

1 1/3 Cups of Milk, room temperature
2 Packages of Active Dry Yeast
5 1/2 Cups of Bread Flour
3 Tablespoons of Sugar
2 1/2 Teaspoons of Salt
4 Large Eggs, at room temperature
1 Stick plus 2 Tablespoons of Unsalted Butter, melted
8 Ounces of Chipotle Jack Cheese, shredded
3 Cups of Chorizo, cooked and crumbled

Directions:

In the mixing bowl of your stand mixer, combine milk and yeast. Let the mix rest for about 5 minutes to allow yeast to bloom. Attach your dough hook to your mixer.
While yeast blooms, mix your dry ingredients together in a separate bowl.
Slowly add in 1/2 your flour mixture, with the beaters turned to low, until all of the mixture is fully incorporated.
Next beat in your eggs and 1/2 cup, or one stick, of melted butter.
Slowly add the remaining amount of flour mixture, and once fully combined turn the mixer to medium speed. A dough should begin to form.
Once a soft dough has formed, it should be slightly sticky, remove the dough from the mixer, placing it into a greased bowl. Cover the bowl with greased plastic wrap, and let rise on the counter for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, or until double in size.
In a medium bowl, mix together your chorizo and cheese.
Gently punch down dough, and divide in half. Turn dough out, onto floured surface.
Roll each half into an 18×12 inch rectangle. Spread an even amount of your chorizo mixture onto each rectangle of dough, pressing the mixture into the dough.
Spray two 9 inch loaf pans with cooking spray.
Cut your rectangles into thirds, length wise, creating three strips. Then cut the strips into four inch rectangles.
Stack the rectangles, on their sides, into each loaf pan.
Once your pans are completely full, cover and let rise until double in size. About 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
Once double in size, preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Brush each loaf with the remaining melted two tablespoons of butter.
Bake for about an hour, or until dough is cooked in the center.
If the bread begins to brown too quickly, cover with foil.
After baked, let bread cool completely before serving.

Recipes

Truffle + Black Pepper Brioche

April 12, 2018June 4, 2019by Lindy Moody2 Comments

Warm, tender, melty, buttery…what taste better than fresh baked bread still warm from the oven? The aroma alone that fills your home as you bake is amazing.

When it comes to cooking, baking has always been my strong suit. The precision comes easy, which is difficulty for many. What has not come easy, in my baking journey, is making homemade yeast risen bread. Yeast is one extremely finicky and easy to kill. I have read and watched countless lessons on how to bake your own bread, so I hope I can share a few tips with you so you can skip the years of struggling I endured to get yeast right.

If you’re not a baker or good at making bread, brioche is a great place to start. The recipe is almost foolproof, mainly because a lot of the work is done overnight in the fridge.

With my exuberant attempts to make bread I have learned that letting the dough rise at room temperature for twice as long does the trick. Not only does it enhance the flavor of the bread, but you do not risk killing the yeast by adding heat. I also don’t use warm liquids, again to avoid destroying the temperamental yeast. Room temperature will stills activate your yeast. Finally, make sure to place your salt on the opposite end of your yeast in your mixing bowl.

Making your own starter deepens the flavor of the bread. A starter is extremely simple to make, and it only adds a bit more preparation time to your recipe.

This recipe is extremely adaptable, you can make it into rolls, a loaf, or baguette; you can also interchange the featured addition. Cheese, dried fruit, or anything you could imagine would be delicious in this versatile bread.

This bread takes about 2 days to make.

Brioche Starter:

Ingredients:

2 Tablespoons of Room Temperature Water
1 Tablespoon of Sugar
1/4 Teaspoon of Instant Yeast
1/2 Cup of Unbleached Bread Flour
1 Large Egg

Directions:

In a small bowl combine all of the ingredients, mix until fully combined.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let sit on the counter for at least one day, but no more than two days.

Dough:

Ingredients:

1 Cup Plus 1 1/2 Tablespoons of Bread Flour
2 Tablespoons of Sugar
1 1/4 Teaspoons of Instant Yeast
1/2 Teaspoon of Salt
2 Large Eggs at Room Temperature
8 Tablespoons of Very Soft Unsalted Butter
2/3 Teaspoon of Truffles in Oil
1 Teaspoon of Cracked Black Pepper
Egg Glaze, 1 Egg Mixed with 1 Teaspoon of Milk

Directions:

1. In a small bowl, whisk the flour with the sugar and yeast, last whisk in the salt.

2. Sprinkle this mixture on top of the starter. Cover it tightly with plastic wrap and let it stand for 1 1/2 to 2 hours at room temperature.

3. In your stand mixer, add in the mixture you let rise for two hours.

4. Add two eggs and mix with the dough hook on low for about 1 minute. Raise the speed to medium and beat for 2 minutes. Scrape the sides of the bowl with an oiled spatula and continue beating for about 5 minutes longer or until the dough is smooth and shiny but very soft and sticky.

5. Add the pepper and truffles, then the butter by the tablespoon, waiting until each addition is almost completely absorbed before adding the next tablespoon, beating until all the butter is incorporated. The dough will be very soft, elastic, and sticky.

4. Using an oiled spatula scrape the dough into a large greased bowl, and lightly oil the top of the dough.

5. Cover at let rise for at least 1 1/2 -2 hours, or until the dough doubles in size.

5. Refrigerate the dough for at least 10 hours, allowing it to continue to rise in the fridge.

7. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and gently press it down to deflate it. Cut the dough into 8 pieces, and with floured hands kneed and shape into balls.

8. Grease your desired pan for baking, and arrange your dough balls within. Lightly cover with oiled plastic wrap and let rise for at least one hour or until doubled in size. Preheat the oven to 425°F 1 hour before baking.

9. Lightly beat together the egg yolk and milk, then brush the top of the brioche.

10. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes, or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.

Want all things food?

Subscribe now for updates on the latest recipes and reviews