Charleston Hobotee
INNOVATIVE CHARLESTON AND SAVANNAH CHEFS SEEM finally to be discovering perloo, awendaw, Huguenot torte, and any number of other distinctive dishes that once figured prominently in Carolina and Georgia Lowcountry cuisine. But, so far, not one seems to be even aware of this superlative curried meat custard that probably graced both breakfast and dinner tables […]
Paul’s Coconut Beer Shrimp
PAUL PRUDHOMME CREATED THIS AMAZING APPETIZER back in the 1970s, when he was chef at Commander’s Palace in New Orleans, and long before he became so famous. I knew the second I tasted it back in the kitchen that this giant of a man would be a force to be reckoned with. To say the […]
Miami Barbecued Shrimp
QUITE FRANKLY, I’VE ALWAYS THOUGHT THAT Floridians could use a few lessons from the folks up in Tennessee and North Carolina when it comes to the art of barbecuing. On the other hand, I could only exclaim when, while judging the dishes at a March of Dimes Gourmet Gala in Miami, I popped a few […]
Creole Shrimp Ravigote
THIS IS A VARIATION ON CRABMEAT RAVIGOTE WITH AN altogether different sauce created years ago by Nathaniel Burton, the brilliant black chef in the Caribbean Room of New Orleans’ renowned Pontchartrain Hotel. Why Nat insisted that this version of the sauce not be used for crabmeat I could never figure out—maybe because of the anchovies. […]
Julia’s Shrimp Remoulade
JULIA REED, AN AUTHOR WHO HAILS FROM GREENVILLE, Mississippi, but lives in New Orleans, knows a thing or two about Creole cooking in general, and everything about shrimp remoulade in particular. Remoulade dressing, of course, is one of the glories of Southern cuisine, and for years, I believed that the finest versions were found in […]
Georgia Style Pickled Shrimp
EVERY REGION OF THE SOUTH HAS ITS OWN distinctive ways of pickling shrimp, oysters, mussels, and the like, but this Georgia method of pickling shrimp and serving them with a spicy cream sauce as an appetizer seems unique and recalls for me an incredible feast served by relatives of my mother in Monticello. “Oh honey, […]
Shrimp Cakes with Spicy Tartar Sauce
LINDA CARMAN, FORMER DIRECTOR OF MARTHA WHITE Kitchens in Nashville, Tennessee, not only knows all there is to know about Southern flour but can go on and on in her thick drawl about any particular Southern dish that sparks her passion. So when she began describing in detail the shrimp cakes with spicy tartar sauce […]
Ocracoke Clam Fritters
FRESH SOFT-SHELL CLAMS (“STEAMERS”) ARE STILL fried at seafood shacks all over Ocracoke Island on North Carolina’s Outer Banks in much the same manner they were when the Manteo Indians inhabited the region centuries ago. However, since most clams that are iced and shipped to markets around the country tend to be tough and stringy […]
Smoky Oysters
GONE ARE THE DAYS WHEN VIRGINIA OYSTERS (Crassostrea virginica) as big as goose eggs were plentiful from Chesapeake Bay down to Florida, and oyster houses in New Orleans, Mobile, and Biloxi overflowed with customers devouring fat Apalachicolas and Bon Secours for a dime a dozen. All Southern oysters might be scarce and expensive today compared […]
Pickled Coon Oysters
ON FLORIDA’S EAST AND WEST COASTS, COON OYSTERS (so called because raccoons are their main predator) attach their oval, ridged shells to the coral of shallow waters and are considered one of the state’s great delicacies. Naturally, the oysters are often eaten on the half shell all along the two coasts, but never did I […]