Creamy White Turnip Soup

Featured on the daily meal's web site and adapted from Southern Farmers Market Cookbook, this is a simple and elegant soup for your New Year's Eve table. Happy New Year!

http://www.thedailymeal.com/creamy-white-turnip-soup-spring-onions-and-roasted-garlic

Christmas Cooking Past, Present, and Future

Those of us who enjoy cooking are probably each drawn to it for different reasons. Artistry, beauty, creativity, nurturing...the list is undoubtedly a long one.

As I started prepping Christmas dinner a few days ago, several ideas and emotions floated to the surface of my mind, reminding me what I love about cooking. Above all, I love getting lost in it. I find that when I'm cooking I'm happy and completely worry-free. I kiss my dog more, I laugh more, and I sing more - well, at least when I'm alone.

But also, there are those memories, very precise vignettes, that come along as I prepare dishes attached to stories and/or people, and truly, what dish isn't? For example, while skimming the fat and foam off of the top of the beef stock that will form the backbone for Saturday's French onion soup, I saw the faces and heard the words of my precious French chefs at Le Cordon Bleu, from many years ago. The words were in French, of course, but they translated nicely in my mind at the moment. "One must not trouble the stock," from one. "Don't forget this is not a vegetable soup. Stock is mostly about bones," from another. "Never salt, are you in love?," from yet another sly one.

Similarly, all those months of making tarts for Tart Love (Sept., 2011, Gibbs Smith) brought me right back to my cherished mother-in-law Dori's kitchen, or to the garden of my personal French queen of tarts, Simone Firtione.

Cooking is so wonderful that way. It's the gift that keeps on giving. When my guests and I sit down to Christmas dinner on Saturday, I hope we'll all forge new and delicious memories we can savor years from now, at the most pleasantly unexpected sips and stirs.

Here's what will be on our table this year:

Miniature Bagels with Cream Cheese, Scottish Smoked Salmon, Red Onion & Capers

French Onion Soup

Artisinal Greens Mixed Salad with Fresh Pomegranates and Pomegranate Vinaigrette

Roasted Hubbard Squash Puree

Cornmeal and Oyster Dressing

Roasted Organic Free Range Turkey with Pan Gravy

and, for the first time: Persimmon Tart with Coconut Ice Cream

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year and of course, Happy Cooking!

Okra

There is a nice story about Charleston Chef's Table Cookbook by Stephanie Burt in the new issue of the online magazine, Okra. Here's the link:

http://southernfood.org/okra/?p=176

Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas!

Super Sexy Scuppernong & Pomegranate Tartlets

The flavor of the scuppernong is intensely grape-like. The outer skin is bitter, but the interior is sweet and gelatinous, which lends itself to the thickness of the sauce (or coulis) for this tartlet. Pomegranate juice (available at most grocery stores) adds brilliant, deep-red color and a sweet, acidic edge. So, why not pair the unlikely duo?

The results are smashing! The crunchy, pop-in-your-mouth pomegranate seeds form the first layer of the filling that is topped with a lemony, cotton-white mousse. Prepared puff pastry shells for the tart casings, while the coulis swirls around the plate in unrestrained regal splendor. All can be prepared ahead and plated at the last second, which makes this the perfect tartlet treat for your Christmas and holiday table. If scuppernongs are not available where you are, substitute Concord grapes or another full-flavored grape.

Super Sexy Scuppernong & Pomegranate Tartlets
(Makes 12 individual servings)

Equipment Needed: Parchment paper, baking sheet

2 packages Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry Shells (or 2 Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry Sheets cut into rounds with a 2" round pastry cutter)
1 egg wash - yolk, pinch salt, splash water, blended together

For the coulis:
3 cups whole, fresh scuppernongs, rinsed
1 cup pomegranate juice
1/2 cup water
1 cinnamon stick
2 tablespoons sugar

For the mousse:
1 packet Knox unflavored gelatin
1 tablespoon warm water
1 cup 2% plain Greek yogurt
Zest from 1 lemon
1/2 cup honey, preferably local
1 cup cold whipping cream
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For the garnish:
Seeds from one pomegranate, flesh and pulp removed (see directions below).

Preheat the oven to 400F. Line the baking sheet with parchment paper and arrange the thawed pastry shells on it, about one inch apart. Brush the tops (not sides!) of each lightly with the egg wash. Bake until golden and fluffy, about 25 minutes. Set aside to cool when done.

Meanwhile, prepare the coulis. Combine the scuppernongs, pomegranate juice, water, cinnamon stick and sugar in a medium sauce pan. Bring up to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the scuppernongs have popped and the liquid has reduced by half, about 20 minutes. Set aside to cool.

Meanwhile, prepare the mousse. Combine the gelatin and water in a small glass or cup. Stir to combine with a spoon, or use your fingers. Once fully dissolved, whisk the gelatin in a medium bowl with the yogurt, lemon zest and honey. In a separate cold bowl, using a hand mixer or a whisk, mount the whipping cream with the vanilla. Whip until fluffy and firm. To finish the mousse, whisk one third of the cream into the yogurt mixture. Fold the remaining cream, in two batches, into the yogurt mixture. Chill, covered in the refrigerator. (Note: This can be made several hours in advance).

To finish the coulis, remove and discard the cinnamon stick and smash the cooled mixture with a masher or a fork to release as much flesh as possible. Drain the mixture through a fine sieve, pressing with the back of a ladle to release the juices, into a small bowl. Discard the grape skin/seed solids. The remaining liquid is your wonderful coulis! Chill the coulis.

Now, separate the seeds from the pomegranate. To do this, cut the pomegranate into quarters. Peel the seeds away from the pulp (also called aril). Do this with patience, it takes a little time. Your goal is to separate the bitter pulp away from the seeds and then discard it.

To assemble the tartlets, gently peel the "tops" off the baked pastry shells, along with some of the inside pastry, to form a "home" for the tart filling. Place one tablespoon of the pomegranate seeds into the bottom of each. Top with two heaping tablespoons of the mousse. Serve on individual plates with a generous swirl of the coulis, and a drizzle of pomegranate seeds. Keep cold until serving (up to one hour) or better yet, serve immediately.

Merry Christmas and happy holidays to all!

Adapted from Tart Love - Sassy, Savory, Sweet and Southern, by Holly Herrick (Gibbes Smith, Fall, 2011). Photograph by Helene DuJardin, www.mytartelette.com

More Hubee D's, Please!

Every once in a rare while, a restaurant comes along that transforms the usually healthy eating me into a virtual glutton. Hubee D's is the latest cruelly delicious contender. I visited it three times this week, even in the fattening wake of Thanksgiving indulgence. I was so pleasantly and guiltily sated every time I started fantasizing about shouting Weee Weee Weee all the way home, just like Max the pig in the Geico ads.

So be it. Hubee D's is just that delicious, or "Deelicious!" as their logo accurately deems this exclusively chicken - of the (mostly)fried kind - palace. Co-owners John Ferguson and Dana Sinkler, both Charlestonians and seasoned veterans of the restaurant scene here, wanted to come up with a restaurant concept that reflected Charleston. At first they thought about burgers, given Five Guys and others success, but then the idea morphed into all chicken, until finally they winnowed it down to their winning formula: fried chicken and wings, according to Sinkler. The unusual but highly memorable name comes from Ferguson, a collector of old trucks, like the one pictured above. When he saw it, he declared that it looked like something that should be called a Hubee. After that they tagged on the "D" for delicious.

Back to delicious! You've never had wings or sauces this good, anywhere. They come from Sinkler's family reipe file are honed with his talent to perfection. All of the sauces (save the Honey Mustard) are his creations. I cannot get enough of the Lowcountry Buffalo Hot (it also comes in mild and very hot) or the Black Tie Bourbon. The first plucks at your tongue with deep notes of vinegar and its rich coral color is a feast for the eyes, while the latter is deeply sweet and savory all at once. All the chicken comes from a SC chicken farmer and can be mixed and matched at the succulent "sauce bar".

The fried chicken (either tenders, nuggets or sandwiches) takes a long bath in buttermilk before getting dipped in a thick batter that crisps to crunchy perfection in a fryer - all made to order along with the hand cut fries that are served heaping and hot in every basket. The Hubee Sauce that comes with all of these is another huge Hubee winner. All smoky and slightly sweet, it reminded me of a smoke-infused Russian dressing. It's highly unusual and entirely irresistible. Sizes and prices for the items range from an easy $3.99 to $6.99. And, Hubee's throws in a crispy, tangy red cabbage, green cabbage and carrot slaw, cake-like sweet cornbread for added delicious good manners.

Hubee's has successfully usurped my long-standing wings King (Buffalo South)and sent it tumbling from its still tasty throne to mere Prince status. Hubee's are more meaty and come either slow smoked in hickory wood or simply dry rubbed style or "naked". Then there are all those delicious sauces for dipping.

Hubee's joins new restaurants Yobe yogurt and Pizza Pie pizza at the newly formed mini-strip mall at the renovated St. Andrews Shopping Center in West Ashley. A kind of celebrated food courts of sorts, Hubee's looks so franchise-like and impersonal from the outside (save for that cute truck) that I automatically wrote it off as same and thus avoided it until I kept reading all of Marion Sullivan's (Charleston Magazine's Food Editor) enthusiastic tweets about it. Even though it has the franchise look, it doesn't have the franchise taste. Not by a long shot!

It is a little like Five Guys in that sense, except it tastes extremely homemade and real. There is no production-line aura and nobody screams at you when you place your order. Indeed, service is extremely pleasant and personable, the restaurant is spotlessly clean, and the food comes fast (but not rushed), even when it's busy. Sit back and nosh on the salty boiled peanuts and take in the nostalgic country mural while you wait. The biggest mystery of all to me is how Hubee's smells completely clean and fresh, even with all that frying going on. The only answer is very clean and well-tended fryers, which makes being bad taste so very good.

Speaking of baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaad, so bad I haven't yet done it, dig into D's Famous Fried Banana Pudding ($4.99). It's Sinkler's "de-constructed" version of a Charleston dessert staple, banana pudding. His version pools a cloud of cool vanilla pudding with a beignet batter-dipped banana that is fried and served hot with a dusting of crunchy vanilla wafers and hot chocolate and caramel drizzled over the top. C'mon now! As Sinkler says, "It's a great dish to share with friends."

If you want to be a little kinder to your waistline, Hubee's also serves three knock-out fresh salads and you can take that sandwich grilled, if you like. Kids will revel in the kids basket ($3.99) while the assorted size platters will likely be the hottest ticket in town come Super Bowl Sunday.

Hubee D's
975 Savannah Highway
St. Andrews Shopping Center, West Ashley
(843) 556-0330
www.hubeeds.com