Southern Comfort

Southern Comfort

May 24, 2011
Weight = 178!
Exercise since last flog = zip, zilch & nada

Okay . . . so, this flog is about sharing my love of food and losing weight. My plan was to eat right and exercise Monday through Saturday and on Sundays let my proverbial angel hair down and pig out! Well, I gained 8 pounds in one week! Was it the Chicky Dumps or the coconut cake or the fact that I need to get off my perfectly baked loaf and go to the gym or at least walk the dogs.

As you can see I have added some “get real” data at the top left. I will honestly complete this so I can reach my target weight if 155.

Now for the food . . .

Levi and I were craving southern food. In my world this means fried chicken, collard greens and mash potatoes . . . Levi droolingly agreed. He also ask me to make Grandma Kitty’s potato rolls and I really wanted to make my “Chocolate Damn Cake”.

I think making food for your honey or family is just fine but I really like to invite one or two unbiased folks who are not afraid to share their opinion and to be sure we don’t have any leftovers! Our plus one this week is our good friend “Steve”. Steve is a kick-ass in-your-face handyman extraordinaire. He’s 46 years old, probably 6’4” and 250 pounds. He has spent the majority of his life on the street supporting a crack habit, a habit that he kicked nearly a year ago.

I have seen a transformation take place in this man that proves that God is real. He has gone from a paranoid, agitated, loud and frankly scary man to this gentle man who is incredibly talented at fixing anything – I mean anything – from foundations to roofs. He cares deeply for the people who are homeless or just in need. He is a real miracle and harbinger of hope.

Okay . . . so, I did NOT plan this but Steve also happens to have skin the color of fine powdered chocolate. He even grew up in Memphis on southern food. Levi asked me if I planned to invite Steve, (one of three black people in the state of Utah) because of my southern menu. I said I didn’t and that it was an innocent co-inka-dink. I don’t think he believes me.

Serrano Fried Chicken

Brine
2 tbls ground sage
1 tbls garlic powder
¾ cup kosher salt
¾ cup sugar
1 gallon water

4 legs, 4 wings, 4 thighs, 4 breasts cut in half lengthways (or whatever combo you like)

Egg Dip
4 eggs
¼ cup water
1 cup Louisiana/Tabasco hot sauce

Flour Dredge
3 cups flour
2 tbls baking powder
1 tsp cayenne pepper

Day before –
Boil sage, garlic, salt and sugar in about 4 cups of water. Stir until the mixture is dissolved. Pour this into the remaining water. Place your chicken in a large stock pot and pour all your brine in too. Add more water if necessary to cover chicken. Place in fridge overnight. Remove pot from fridge 2 hours before you are ready to fry your chicken – this warms the chicken a lowers the cooking time.

Heat oil to 350°

In separate bowls mix your dip and your dredge. Drain your chicken (tehe). Dip chicken in egg dip then in flour dredge (tip: use one hand for wet and one hand for dry this way you will not end up with doughy loaf hands). Fry 4- 6 pieces of chicken until golden brown- about 10-15 minutes until the juice runs clear when cut. Don’t overcrowd the chicken when frying. Keep warm in 200° oven uncovered.

Red Potato Mash with Black Pepper Gravy
(Really? You want a recipe for mash potatoes and gravy?)

Southern Collard Greens
1 pound collard greens trimmed and washed
¾ cup salt pork – ¼ inch squares.
1 cup chopped onion
1tbs red chili flake
½ cup chicken stock
¼ cup white vinegar
2tbs pepper sauce like Louisiana or Tabasco

Trimming collard greens (or any vegetable trimming) is a meditative task that reminds me of my grandma’s kitchen. Cut out the woody stems of all collard leafs and place in a sink with cool water. Discard/mulch the stems and any yellow leafs. Collard greens are often muddy so I wash once, drain, then refill the sink and let the greens crisp up in the water (. Drain

Fry salt pork in a large pot over medium heat until it is golden in color. Remove and set aside. Add onion and cook until translucent. Add Red chili flakes and collard greens and chicken stock. Let simmer over low heat for 45 minutes. Then add vinegar and hot sauce and cook for 5 minutes more.

I serve it in a small bowl so you get the heavenly juices with the greens. Top with salt pork.



Potato Rolls
5 cups all-purpose flour
1 (1/4 ounce) package active dry yeast
1 1/2 cups water (105 to 115 F)
1/2 cup mashed potatoes
1/3 cup butter, melted
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt

In large bowl combine 2 cups of the flour and the yeast.
In small mixing bowl combine warm water, potatoes, butter, sugar and salt.
Add to dry ingredients in mixing bowl.
Beat with electric mixer for 30 seconds on low, scraping side of bowl.
Beat on high speed for 3 minutes.
Stir in remaining flour with a dough hook (or knead by hand), as needed (with most bread recipes the actual amount of flour required depends on humidity, etc. so add slowly until dough pulls away from sides of pan and forms a ball).
Cover in oiled bowl and refrigerate for 2 to 24 hours.

Preheat oven to 400°
Punch dough down. Turn out on lightly floured surface.
Cover and let rest for 10 minutes.
Grease 13x9-inch baking pan. Shape dough into 24 rolls. I divide by cutting dough piece in half and then each of those pieces in half--continuing until I have 24 pieces, kinda helps to get a more uniform size.

Place rolls in prepared pan.
Cover and let rise in a warm place until nearly doubled in size (about 40 minutes).
Bake at 400°F for 16 to 20 minutes or until golden brown.

Chocolate Damn Cake (the reason it is called this is because my friend Eileen yells “DAMN!” after every bite)

Filling
5 tablespoons yummy cocoa powder
¼ cup cornstarch
½ cup sugar
1 pinch salt
½ teaspoon instant espresso (if not available, can use instant coffee)
2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cake
2 cups sugar
1 ¾ cups flour
¾ cup baking cocoa (I use kick-ass bulk chocolate from Caputo’s Market)
1 ½ tsp baking powder
1 ½ tsp baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
½ cup vegetable oil
2 tsp vanilla extract
¾ cup boiling water

Frosting
1 cup butter
2 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 tbls cold espresso
Half of the filling above

Filling
Sift all dry ingredients together in a bowl and mix until combined.
Place mixture in a medium saucepan.
Stir in just enough milk to create a smooth paste.
Gradually mix in remaining milk.
Cook over medium heat and stir slowly and constantly until mixture thickens and starts to boil. Let it boil another 30 seconds or so, gently stirring constantly.
Remove from the heat and gently stir in vanilla.
Pour pudding into a large bowl and refrigerate until cool about an hour.

Cake
Preheat oven to 350°
Grease and flour two 9 inch round baking pans or one 13x9 inch pan.
In large mixer bowl, stir together dry ingredients.

Add eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla; beat on medium speed for 2 minutes.
Stir in boiling water by hand (batter will be thin)
Pour into prepared pan.

Bake 30 to 35 minutes for round 9-inch pans, 35 to 40 minutes for rectangular pan or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. (Do not use 8-inch pans or the batter will overflow.).

Cool 10 minutes; remove from pan to wire racks. Let cool completely.

Frosting
Whip butter in mixer until smooth and creamy.
Add powdered sugar and mix until smooth.
With mixer on high add half of the filling one spoon at a time making sure it is combined before adding the next spoon.

Then slowly add the espresso and vanilla. This frosting can be thin which is good for dirty frosting the cake. If you want it thicker just refrigerate for a while and re-whip. But don’t let it get too cold because it is impossible to frost with and then you will have to wait for it to get warmer.

Assembly
When everything is cool, spread the filling between the layers of your cake.

I like to “dirty frost” my cake – this means putting a thin coat of frosting all over the cake not worrying about crumbs poking through. Refrigerate for an hour or so. Then complete the frosting. This makes for a crumb-free frost job! If you can, set the cake in the fridge for a couple hours before you cut onto it.

Sometimes I reserve some frosting and filling and do some piping on the top of edge the cake and then fill it with the chocolate filling.

Feel free to email/call/comment!