SIMPLE DISCOVERIES

Simple Discoveries

            Travel is bad for your waistline!  Not exactly a new or novel observation, but it asserted itself again this summer. It started out earlier in June with a series of family celebrations in North Carolina and seems to have continued even back home in Maine. Those weekend or overnight ‘get-away’ trips revisiting some of our favorite places lead not only to eating out, but also discovering interesting food combinations.

            Some of these tasty combinations are worth remembering and trying to duplicate at home, judiciously interspersed with more dietetic fare. Our Southern sojourn gave us not only tastes of masterful barbecue, but also reminded me of some of my recipes for summer garden bounty, fried with a crisp light coating of crust. Thin slices of zucchini or eggplant are delicious fried in vegetable oil after dipping in beaten egg and some bread crumbs. Topped with a slice of cheese they make an excellent light lunch.

            Then there is the classical Southern dish of fried green tomatoes, which came to national attention in the 1990’s with Fannie Flag’s novel Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistlestop Café  and the subsequent movie. I was reminded of that at a restaurant named Frogs Leap in Waynesville, NC where a most elegant Fried Green Tomato Napoleon brought this dish to a new level. My approximation comes close to the original.

                                    Fried Green Tomato Napoleons

            Select firm medium sized green tomatoes, slice in 1/3 inch slices and blot with paper towels.  Set near the stove 3 shallow dishes: one with ¼ cup flour, two with ½ cup buttermilk (mix with a beaten egg for thicker coating) and third with ¼ cup flour mixed with ½ cup cornmeal and salt and pepper to taste. In a heavy pan heat ¼ inch peanut oil to hot, but not smoking, dip each tomato in sequence in flour, buttermilk and corn mixture and fry  2 minutes to a side. Drain tomatoes on paper towels. Assemble Napoleons by placing a slice of buffalo mozzarella on each slice of fried green tomato, sprinkle with a few drained capers, top with a second slice of fried green tomato, some lightly shredded Assiago cheese and decorate with a halved cherry tomato. Serve a dollop of sauce on the side made by mixing ¼ cup mayonnaise, 2 tsp. drained horseradish, 2 tsp. ketchup and ¼ tsp. chili powder.

                        Another fried dish that originally seemed like an anomaly was Fried Pickles. There is a French recipe for adding slices of dill pickles to a sauce for pork chops, but actually fried pickles make a good tangy appetizer.

                                    Fried pickles.

            Drain and pat dry about 2 cups of dill pickle slices. For batter: mix ½ cup flour, ½ tsp. Italian seasoning, 1 tsp. Cajun seasoning in ½ cup water.  Dip pickle slices in batter and fry in ½ inch peanut oil for 1-2 minutes. Drain on paper towels and serve with dipping sauce: mix ¼ cup Greek yoghurt, dash of garlic salt, ¼ tsp. Cajun seasoning, ¼ tsp. dry mustard.

            The ingenious and delicious combinations by chefs these days can be found just about anywhere. Here is an adaptation of an incredible nacho dish we encountered in a restaurant in Greenville, ME with the curious name of Stress Free Lobster.

                                    The Ultimate Chili Nachos

            Assemble in a large baking dish in layers: multicolored corn chips with 1 ½ cups shredded jack cheese. In the layers sprinkling some black olive slices, some drained and rinsed black beans, some jalapeno slices, some drained capers and some finely diced red pepper. Bake at 450 degrees for 6-8 minutes, remove from oven and place ½ -3/4 cups of hot, thick ground beef chili in a strip on the top. Sprinkle with grated cheddar and chopped scallions and serve some sour cream on the side. It looks very festive and is actually a whole meal.

            Travel food discoveries can be most pleasant.

           

(I. Winicov Harrington lives in Waldoboro and is the author of “How to Eat Healthy and Well for Less than $5.00 a Day: the Smart-Frugal Food Plan”; website: www.winicov-harrington.com)