Fried Green Tomatoes

oh but i'm late this month. where has the time gone? i actually made this particular dish a month ago and procrastinated with the posting of it. oops. so without further ado... i present Fried Green Tomatoes. i've read the book and seen the movie countless times. i've scanned recipes that include bacon grease, chocolate (!), lard... oh the list goes on and on. i kept it simple. i wanted a crunch, i wanted some tartness and most importantly, i wanted a good dipping sauce that had a kick.

slice tomatoes on the thicker side, maybe half an inch. dredge in flour, egg wash and then cornmeal. fry it up in some hot ass veggie oil until golden brown. drain on paper towels.

for the sauce, i combined: mayo, horseradish, ketchup and maybe a pinch of salt. to thin it out, i add some water.

so until next time, keep your kitchen warm, your apron on and try to keep your jeans from getting too snug...
Angry Asian

Hey Ya'll!

This month's challenge was just that....a challenge. I only eat two kinds of seafood and I'm usually scared to cook it myself b/c I'm scared that I'll not do it right and end up ill. Anyway, I thought and I thunked and came up with Shrimp-N-Grits. I had to represent the south...yee haw!

I purchased 1 lb of shrimp, 1 lb of sausage, and the ingredients to make grits. I did not buy instant grits. If you've seen "my cousin vinny" you'd know that no self respecting southerner eats instants grits (like i'm a big grit eater, but whatevs).

My picture is my serving which is why there is just a tad. However, Matt's bowl was filled and he went in for seconds. Those TN boys like some food.

I started with the grits. They were cooked in chicken stock until tender, then I removed them from the heat and added 1/2 cup cream, salt, pepper, and a little butter. Not very figure friendly, but creamy and delish.

Next for the shrimp part of it....

I sauteed an onion and garlic for 2 minutes and eventually adding the sausage to it. I let that cook for a while until enough fat developed in the pan to make a roux. Next came the chicken stock and a bay leaf. I didn't buy hot sausage so I added some red pepper flakes for kicks. After the sausage was nearly cooked I threw in the shrimp and let that cook until pink (peeled/deveined of course). Once everything was cooked through I ladled the grits into a bowl and topped with the shrimp mixture.

Results: Matt says he would like this again. Me, well. I liked it, but don't know that I LOVED it. I will admit though....the grits were my favorite part b/c they were creamy. I think if I made them for breakfast I would use water instead of stock, and add some sweetener along with the milk. Anyway, the dish was filling and comforting on a cold night. I'm glad to say that I can mark this dish off of my "to try" list.

Until next time fellow doorknobs, keep those buns and ovens HOT!