Southern Cheese Straws

I don't think cheese straws need much of an introduction -- just imagine if Cheez-Its and Goldfish Crackers had a love child (thanks, Meghan, for that lovely description). One thing's for sure, they are a staple at the Southern table, whether it be a wedding, cocktail party, or tailgate. And why not? They are easy to make, feed a crowd, and are just plain addicting.

For entertaining, I'd serve these with a bowl of spicy maple pecans, sliced seasonal fruit (apples, pears, or figs), and an assorted cheese tray. Feel free to play around with the variety of cheese in the dough, as well. Think parmesan, blue cheese, or smoked gouda. The possibilities are endless!

SOUTHERN CHEESE STRAWS
Source: adapted from the original Charleston Receipts

1 pound sharp cheddar cheese, grated
1 and 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In the bowl of a stand mixer (you can use a food processor if you don't have a stand mixer), cream butter until smooth. Add cheddar cheese and mix until well combined. Add salt, cayenne pepper, and Worcestershire sauce. Lastly, add flour and mix until a soft dough is formed.

In batches, roll out dough to about 1/4" thick. Using a pizza cutter or a sharp knife, cut into narrow strips (anywhere from 4" - 6" long). Bake on sheet pans lined with parchment paper for 25 minutes. YIELD: anywhere from 60 - 80 straws, depending on length.

Kitchen tip: Don't use the pre-shredded bagged cheddar here. Those products use wax to prevent the cheese from sticking together, which would defeat the purpose in this dish (same with pimento cheese). To grate the cheese, use either the large holes of a box grater or the shredder disc for the food processor.

My First "The Kitchn" Post

I'm a long time reader of The Kitchn. It's such an amazing resource for home cooks: recipes, cookbook and product reviews, kitchen tours, and more. As an avid fan (I check for updates at least five times a day), I'm thrilled to announce that I am their newest weekly contributor!

I'll be offering up modern Southern-style comfort food, so check back every Monday for the latest recipe. Here's my first post: Chicken Divan, from Scratch. (And don't worry, I'll still be posting regular recipes on Dixie Caviar. Just think of it as twice the goodness.)

The Great (Brunswick Stew) Debate of 2010

Brunswick Stew is a staple barbecue side in the South, and is often found at football tailgates alongside pulled pork sandwiches, baked beans, coleslaw, and potato salad. I decided to take a stab at this highly controversial dish by making the ultimate Brunswick Stew. Well, in my humble opinion, at least.

I've discovered that most people's ideal Brunswick Stew is whatever tastes the most like what they ate as a child (this is also true with meatloaf. And spaghetti. And most other comfort foods of one's youth). Take Walt for instance. He wanted his pureed into baby food. Me, I like a little texture, but who's to say one or the other is wrong. One thing we did agree on, though, is that our definitive Brunswick Stew is made with pork and only pork. No chicken or beef or squirrel.

And while Walt's famous all-day smoked pork butt would be ideal for this recipe, it's not always feasible. In comes my easy, breezy oven pulled pork. Some may call it cheating. I just call it delicious. You can make the pulled pork in advance if you'd like, the day of, or if you are really lazy or time-strapped, you could swing by your favorite barbecue joint to pick up the 'que, but then you just might as well buy the stew. Where would the fun be in that?

To create my perfect recipe, I returned to sixth grade science class and devised my own little science experiment -- dividing the stew up in separate bowls (with a control group, of course), adjusting various ingredients and quantities, and tasting and discussing as necessary. Many thanks to Walt, Drew, and neighbor Mike for offering up their expert palates as well as their "colorful" opinions. When you're making this stew, feel free to taste and adjust as necessary; there is no definitive amount of brown sugar or vinegar or salt.

Lastly, we had to settle on the consistency: "chunky stew" or " brown mush." Immersion blender in hand, Walt ground it to a pulp, finally declaring his brunswick stew finito. Let's just say my version looks the same as what you see pictured. I'll let you decide which one you prefer.

Side note - Just when I thought the recipe was complete, Walt emerged from the kitchen -- hotdog bun in hand -- with a look of smug satisfaction and announced the "Stew Dog." The what?  It's a steamed hot dog bun piled high with the blended Brunswick Stew (and Walt's own creation). It may not be our claim to fame, but even I have to admit it was pretty damn tasty. Mush and all.

"THE GEORGIAN" BRUNSWICK STEW
Yields: 8 - 10 servings (12 cups)

3 pounds cooked pulled pork (recipe below)
1 tablespoon butter
1 onion, chopped (medium to large)
3 cups chicken stock, plus more as needed
2 pounds (yukon gold) potatoes, diced
1 (28 ounce) can whole tomatoes with juices, chopped
1 (10 ounce) bag frozen corn
1 (10 ounce) bag frozen lima beans
1/4 cup brown sugar, or to taste
1/4 cup hot pepper vinegar (or apple cider vinegar), or to taste
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 tablespoons Frank's Hot Sauce, or to taste
1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
1 - 2 teaspoons hickory flavored liquid smoke
Kosher salt, to taste White sandwich bread, for serving

In a large stock pot, heat butter over medium high heat. Saute onions until soft, about 7 minutes. Add chicken stock and bring to a boil. Add potatoes and simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in tomatoes and juices, corn, lima beans, brown sugar, vinegar, chili powder, hot sauce, worcestershire sauce, and liquid smoke. Add more chicken stock, if desired (this will depend on whether you like your stew thick or soupy). Season generously with salt and pepper. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes to an hour (or more).

OVEN PULLED PORK

1 (4 pound) boneless pork shoulder
Southern spice blend (see below)
1/2 cup lager-style beer
3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon hickory flavored liquid smoke

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Rub pork shoulder thoroughly with spice blend. Place shoulder in a large dutch oven; add beer, cider vinegar, and liquid smoke. Cover and cook for 3 hours. Immediately shred pork using two forks. Use immediately or refrigerate. NOTE: This will yield around 3 pounds of pulled pork.

Kitchen tip: If you want to use this recipe for pulled pork sandwiches, arrange the cooked, shredded pork on a sheet pan and pop it under the broiler for a few minutes. This will crisp it up a bit, more like your favorite barbecue house. Serve with white hamburger buns (the cheaper the better), Carolina Red Sauce, and homemade slaw.

SOUTHERN SPICE BLEND

2 tablespoons paprika
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Mix all ingredients until well-blended.

Spicy Bloody Mary's

Bloody Mary's have not always been my morning cocktail of choice. Once upon a time, in my inexperienced and unbridled youth, I spent a hazy evening drinking copious amounts of -- from what I can recall -- off brand tequila. The following morning, an older and wiser companion took me to brunch to nurse my bruised ego (I hit a mailbox and knocked the side-view mirror off of my brand new ride. Do not, and I repeat, do not drink and drive, kiddos.). He waxed poetic about the healing effects of the Bloody Mary. I wasn't so sure, but he seemed to know what he was talking about. One sip later and I was curled up in the bathroom of a fairly classy food establishment. Needless to say, I steered clear of the tomato juice-vodka cocktail for a couple of years. I'm not quite sure when my opinion changed, but I'm fairly sure it involved my discovery of Absolut Peppar vodka and Zing Zang Bloody Mary Mix. In honor of football season, I figured I'd share the secret. I give you my ultimate Spicy Bloody Mary. This drink is the quintessential southern game day cocktail: potent enough to cure last night's hangover yet perfectly acceptable to drink at 8 o'clock in the morning. Gotta love the SEC!

P.S. When I realized the power of this dangerous duo, I started gifting the pair at Christmas, wrapped up in a little basket and made complete with a bottle of Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, and a jar of pickled okra. Don't you wish you were my friend?

SPICY BLOODY MARY'S
YIELD: one cocktail (can easily be multiplied for a pitcher)

2 ounces Absolut Peppar vodka
4 ounces Zing Zang Bloody Mary Mix
1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
Big squeeze of lime or lemon juice
Salt and pepper, to taste
Hot sauce, to taste (Tabasco or Cholula)
Garnish: celery, lemon, lime, and/or pickled okra

Fill a 16-ounce glass with ice. Pour all ingredients over ice and gently stir. Feel free to adjust for personal taste (i.e. more vodka... wink, wink).

Tailgate Recipe: "Football Sandwiches"

SEC football kicked off this past Saturday (WAR EAGLE!), and I'm so excited to be back South and back in the action. While I'm desperately looking forward to all the big games coming up, I'm even more excited about a few other things that come along with the season: game day dresses, bourbon cocktails, and tailgating to name a few (do you even know how hard it is to find a cute outfit in the appropriate shade of orange and blue?). More importantly, I'm ready for the food. Oh man, Southerners really know how to bring out all the stops when it comes to tailgate cuisine.

My initial goal was to kick off the the festivities with a tried-and-true Thompson tailgate recipe featured on Dixie Caviar. Instead, I went out dancing on Friday night and celebrated a wee bit too hard. Jager Bombs, anyone? Seems the big 2-7 is already catching up with me, and I can't quite hold my liquor as well as I used to.

Quite hung-over, I pulled myself out of bed on Saturday morning determined to make "football sandwiches," a.k.a. ham and swiss sliders with poppy seed sauce. It was these or pizza delivery, and I'd already purchased all of the ingredients. Um, I didn't realize football sandwiches would be the ultimate cure to my ailing, dehydrated body. Move over, Domino's.

Unfortunately I had to work Saturday night, so instead of these being served as tailgate food, they wound up as my contribution to family meal at the restaurant where I waitress. I was a little nervous about serving something so -- well, how would you say it, low brow -- to such acclaimed chefs, but when the sous chef went back for round two and then round three, I knew they were a success.

You really have no idea how good these are until you try them. The sum is definitely greater than the parts. These sliders are going to be in my tailgating arsenal for years to come.

Keep on the look out for more football food in the weeks to come...Up next, spicy bloody Mary's!

FOR THE SLIDERS

• 2 packages (of 12) "Kings Hawaiian" rolls (sweet Hawaiian or butter flavored)
• 2 (6 oz.) packages sliced swiss cheese
• 1 (9 oz.) package thinly sliced honey ham

FOR THE SAUCE

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
• 2 tablespoons prepared mustard (spicy brown or dijon)
• 2 tablespoons poppy seeds
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Slice rolls in half using a serrated knife. Arrange bottom halves of rolls in a large casserole dish (or 2 small ones) and top with ham and cheese. Re-cover with the tops.

For the sauce: Mix together butter, mustard, poppy seeds, and Worcestershire sauce until well combined. Drizzle the sauce over the tops of the sliders. Cover with aluminum foil and allow to sit for at least 30 minutes, or overnight. Bake for 20 - 25 minutes, or until cheese is melted. Serve warm or at room temperature.

YIELDS: 8 - 10 servings.