Fried Oysters w/ Green Tomato, Sweet Corn, Pickled Okra and Blue Cheese Vinaigrette

If you are looking to make a truly Southern dish in your own home then this is it!  This is a recipe from Hank's Seafood Restaurant Cookbook.  Hank's is on list after list of a must-see restaurant if you head down to Charleston and this salad is on their current menu.  I saw this recipe about a year ago in Southern Living magazine and I have been dying to try it out so I finally bit the bullet.  My husband, who isn't a huge oyster fan, absolutely loved it -- although pretty much anything is good when it's fried.  

The recipe calls for green tomatoes, but I used regular red tomatoes because I simply couldn't find green tomatoes anywhere!  How is that possible? 

So what I love most about this salad is the pickled okra.  If you haven't had pickled okra before then good Lord, get to the store and buy a jar immediately!  It is so fantastic I could die.  I ate the entire jar in one day.  Yummy!

Fried Oysters with Green Tomato, Sweet Corn, Pickled Okra and Blue Cheese Vinaigrette (makes 4 salads)

2 c. cracker meal
1 c. cornmeal 
1 c. all purpose flour
salt and pepper
peanut oil
2 large handfuls arugula
16 oysters
4 to 8 halved pickled okra

Blue Cheese Vinaigrette
2 ears fresh corn
1/2 c. extra virgin olive oil
1 c. diced green tomato
1 1/2 c. chicken stock
2 tbsp chopped mixed herbs
3 tbsp crumbled blue cheese
1/2 c. cider vinegar
1 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper

1. For vinaigrette: cut corn from cobs, reserving cobs.  Heat oil in saute pan, add corn and cook 1 minute.  Cool.  Combine stock and corn cobs in saucepan.  Boil then reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes.  Pour mixture through fine wire mesh strainer.  Cool to room temperature and refrigerate.  Stir green tomato into corn and stir into stock.  Just before serving, add in herbs and blue cheese.
2.  Pour 1 and 1/2 inches oil in a cast iron skillet; heat over medium high until temperature reaches 350.  
3.  Whisk cracker meal, flours, 2 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper in shallow bowl.  Dredge oysters in mixture, shaking off excess.  Fry in batches 2 to 4 minutes or until golden brown.  Drain on paper towels; sprinkle with salt and pepper.  
4.  Spoon vinaigrette onto 4 serving plates.  Top with oysters and okra. 

LowCountry Boil - Part 3 - Decor & Desserts

So let’s talk about this party decor...I was going for a rustic, Americana look but that kind of took on a mind of it’s own, transforming from red, white and navy to red, white and turquoise.  I thought the turquoise was much more playful.  I also brought in the burlap and craft paper color so everything wasn’t so matchy-matchy.  I thought the colors played on each other nicely.

My most labor-intensive craft was the dot-garland.  I simply picked some scrapbooking paper that had similar colors and designs, cut out a circles and glued them onto twine.  Things got complicated when I realized how many circles I was going to be cutting out, as each dot on the garland was composed of 2 circles.  Needless to say, the cramp in my hand from cutting hung around a few days. {Note to self: invest in punches next time, a la Martha Stewart}  In addition to the scrapbooking paper, I also made a garland with craft paper and newspaper. {I originally planned on covering the tables with newspaper but then I realized, with the help of my mom, that newspaper print + food probably wasn’t a good idea -- either way I loved the color that the newspaper provided in the garland.}

Next, I used some fun fonts and created tags for each of the mason jars that held the SkinnyChow Spiked Arnold Palmers and secured them to the jars with colored bakers twine that I found at Michael’s.  They were a hit along with the paper red and white straws I got on Etsy.  

I also created a Lowcountry Boil sign and a chalkboard menu on white foam board.  I love the foam board because it’s smooth and extremely sturdy.  I just painted the foam board with chalkboard paint and wrote out the menu on it.  Everyone loved it and it was so simple and cheap! {And I can use it again and again!}

On to dessert -- I didn’t get many pictures at all because it was so dark by the time I served dessert but really -- you guys have got to try these Blueberry Pie Cookies.  They are amazing and the crust part of the cookie is tender and flaky and oh-so-good!  I also served Vanilla Caramel Corn in popcorn bags I found on Etsy and my guests loved picking up a bag and snacking on it while they socialized.  

Blueberry Pie Cookies (makes 32 3-inch pies)

from Building Buttercream 

Pie Crust:

2 1/2 c. flour

6 tbsp sugar

1 tsp salt

2 1/2 sticks cold unsalted butter

about 1/2 c. ice water

Filling:

2 1/2 c. blueberries

1/2 c. sugar

juice and zest from 1/2 lemon

1 tbsp melted butter

1 tbsp cornstarch

1. Mix the flour, sugar, and salt together with a fork.
2. Cube butter and “cut” it into the flour mixture until there are no butter bits that are bigger than a pea.  Make sure you don’t go smaller than this because you will lose flakiness.
3. Add the ice water, a tablespoon or two at a time and use a fork to wet the flour/butter mixture.
4. Keep adding until the dough just starts to hold together.  Don’t let the dough get too wet.
5. Divide dough in two, cover each half with plastic wrap and fridge for a couple hours at least.  
6. Toss blueberries, sugar, lemon juice and zest, butter and cornstarch in a medium bowl.  Set aside.
7. Preheat oven to 350 and line the bottom of cookie sheet with parchment paper
8. Remove one of the covered dough halves from fridge.  Divide this in half and roll out on a floured board.
9. Using a 3-inch round cutter, cut eight circles out of pie dough.  Place these on parchment paper, evenly spaced.
10. Spoon a small amount (5 to 6 blueberries and a little sauce) into the center or each pie circle.  
11. Cut eight more circles out of the pie dough and place them on top of the blueberry topped bottom.  Press down the edges with fork and brush with egg yolk.  Sprinkle with sugar.  Cut small slits on top.
12. Bake 10 to 14 minutes and cool on wire rack.  Repeat with rest of dough and berries.

Vanilla Caramel Corn

From Taste of Home 

3 packages butter-flavored microwave popcorn

1 1/3 c. packed brown sugar

1/2 c. light corn syrup

2/3 c. sweetened condensed milk

1/2 c. butter, cubed

1 tsp vanilla extract

1. Pop popcorn according to manufacturer’s directions.  Transfer to two very large bowls; discard any unpopped kernels.
2. In a large heavy saucepan, combine brown sugar and corn syrup.  Bring to a boil over medium heat; cook and stir for 3 minutes.  Carefully stir in milk and butter; return to a boil.
3. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla.  Pour over popcorn and toss to coat.  Spread in a single layer on a greased 15-in x 10-in x 1-in baking pans.
4. Bake at 250 for 40 minutes, stirring once.  Remove from pans and place on waxed paper to cool.  Break into clusters and store in airtight containers.

All in all, I think my first Lowcountry Boil was a success. If I could do anything different next time, I’d get a bigger pot to do the boil in and I would definitely do the boil over an open flame to be more authentic.  Hopefully next year!

Low Country Boil - Part 2 - The Main Event

So today we have the star of the show -- the seafood boil!  Like I said on Monday, I did a lot of research to ensure the recipe was true to its Southern roots -- it seems everyone has their own version of a seafood boil/shimp boil/frogmore stew but I went ahead and took a page out of The Lee Bros. Southern Cookbook.  Their cookbook is fantastic and full of true Southern recipes that are easy to make and are made with ingredients that are easy to find.  Their book is pretty much my Dictator of Southern cuisine.  

Before I dive into the recipe, I want to give you some details on how I set my table for the boil.  I thought it was really important to make sure everyone was seated together at a long table so I could just dump the food down the middle and make it easy for everyone to grab what they want.  It makes for a truly interactive and fun meal.  I decided to go ahead and rent a couple tables and chairs for the event and I was pleasantly surprised that the rentals only cost around $35 -- and they made a huge statement.  I’ll be renting party supplies more frequently.  

As for the tables, I used plain old craft paper to cover them for a nice rustic look and used dollar store vases covered with strips of burlap {loving my gluegun!} and stuffed with baby’s breath.  The table trim is simply white and red checked paper cut into triangles and taped under the craft paper. Easy as can be!  And don’t forget about little buckets to collect your shrimp peels/tails and clam/mussel shells!  

For my sauces, I used squeeze bottles that I labeled with what they contained.  People really enjoyed the bottles {easy for passing, tasting, and dispensing} and they can be found in the candy making/wedding section of  any Walmart and are priced at around a dollar a bottle.

Now to the food!  There was one part of my Low Country Boil that I didn’t keep authentic and that is building an open fire for the cooking -- the laws in my area forbid it, so I went ahead and used my turkey fryer.  Their recipe is for 24 people -- I made food for about 15 so I’m going to give you my version with their broth/spice mix.

The Lee Bros. Lowcountry Shrimp Boil

1/4 c. extra virgin olive oil

5 serrano, pasilla or other dried red chiles, trimmed, slit down their sides, seeded and flattened

4 lbs Kielbasa

6 quarts Shrimp Broth/Seafood Stock

3 tbsp Lee Bros Shrimp Boil seasoning

1 tbsp salt

2 bay leaves

4 lbs red skinned potatoes

7 ears fresh corn, each ear cut into 3 pieces

4 lbs fresh colossal-sized shrimp

10 dozen clams, cleaned

5 dozen mussels, cleaned

1. Heat up your turkey fryer and add oil to the pot.  When the oil shimmers, add the chiles to the pot and gently toast them until they discolor and release some of their fragrance, about 30 sec.  Add the sausage and stir until browned on most surfaces, 10 to 12 minutes.  Remove chiles and sausage from pot and reserve in a large bowl.
2. Add broth to the pot and stir, scraping up any browned bits and allowing the broth to boil and reduce a bit.  Add the shrimp boil seasoning, salt and bay leaves and cover.  When the broth boils, uncover and simmer vigorously until it has reduced by one sixth, about 10 minutes.  
3. Add potatoes and cook until they have softened a bit but are not yet fork tender, about 10 minutes.  Add the corn and sausage and bring to a simmer.  Let simmer gently for about 10 minutes until the potatoes are easily pierced with a fork.  
4. Add the shrimp, clams and mussels and stir.  Cover pot and allow to cook for about 3 minutes, or until the clams and mussels are open and the shrimp are pink.  Drain the mixture and dump out on table for everyone to enjoy.  Discard any unopened clams or mussels.

The Sauces: Courtesy of Fine Cooking (June/July 2009)

Bloody Mary Cocktail Sauce

2 small lemons

1 small lime

1 c. ketchup

1 c. heinz chili sauce

2 heaping tbsp prepared horseradish, more to taste

2 tbsp vodka

1 tbsp worcestershire sauce

2 tsp pureed canned chipotle chile in adobo, more to taste

1/8 tsp celery salt

1. Finely grate the zest from the lemons and juice them.  Juice the lime.  In a nonreactive bowl, mix 3 tbsp of the lemon juice, 2 tbsp of the lime juice and all of the zest with the ketchup, chili sauce, horseradish, vodka, worcestershire, chipotle and celery salt until combined.

Orange-Saffron Aioli

1 large orange

Pinch saffron, threads crumbled

2 large cloves garlic, roughly chopped or grated

1 tsp dijon mustard

1 large egg yolk

1/2 c. extra virgin olive oil

1/2 c. vegetable oil

salt

1. Finely grate the zest from half the orange and then juice the orange.  Put 1 1/2 tbsp of the juice in a small bowl along with the saffron and let sit for 10 minutes. 
2. In a food processor, combine the saffron mixture, orange zest, garlic and mustard and pulse until garlic is pureed, about 15 seconds.  Add the egg yolk and process for 10 seconds.  With the machine running, slowly pour the olive oil and vegetable oil through the feed tube until the sauce is thick and well combined. Season to taste with salt.