A New Take on Succotash

Succotash was a common dish served on the table of Chris Hastings and he loved it, although he didn't like having a hot, stew-like food in the middle of a summer. When he became a chef, he looked at how to take that childhood favorite and turn it into something better suited for summer.  Thus, he created a Birmingham favorite: his Heirloom Tomato Salad.

Hot and Hot Fish Club

Heirloom Tomato Salad

Recipe

Chef Chris Hastings was the guest chef at today's Pepper Place Market and he featured his heirloom tomato salad.

Heirloom tomatoes, from big boys to peach tomatoes

Our individual samples

Order autographed cookbook here.

Grilled Corn Indoors

I don't have a grill, at least of my own. There are grills at the lake but it is too hot to even consider this. So, I made a quick lunch of grilled corn in my new grill pan. It was smoky in the kitchen but the corn was really good.  I brushed it with olive oil and sprinkled with salt. As it was cooking I rubbed unsalted butter, turned, and then added ground pepper at the end. Doesn't it make you happy when something so simple turns out to be so incredibly good!

Pepper Place: Saturday's Bounty

Saturday at Pepper Place was sooooooo hot! It was made easier with the beautiful background voice and music of an acoustic guitarist, the friendliness of the vendors, the fresh vegetables that will grace my table the rest of the week, and the company of my best buddy.

Tomatoes from the Tomato Snob and blackeyed peas for

Tomato Sandwiches

Blackeyed Pea Salad from Emeril Lagasse

Peaches from Knight's Farm and fresh okra

Fresh peaches for snacking

Okra Fritters at Cooks.com

Corn and "miracle cucumbers", i.e., growing from plants previously thought to have stopped producing for the summer.

Recipes to be determined! Suggestions?

Review: Rogue Tavern

Kudos to the young (and older) entrepreneurs for not giving up on downtown Birmingham and allowing it to turn into a potential ghost town. There are an estimated 4,000 loft district dwellers, 1,000 of whom live around 2nd Avenue North. These residents together with downtown businesses have brought venues like this one to The Magic City. Rogue Tavern is located on 2nd Avenue North between 22nd and 23rd, a bar/live music venue that just so happens to serve good food.

Writes bhammag.com:

Matt Lagace, Rogue's executive chef, comes from a fine-dining background, and his burgers bring a certain inventiveness to casual tavern fare, just as Rogue itself is a couple steps classier than your typical bar/music venue. Yes, the burgers are made from fresh ground chuck, with a seasoning blend created in-house, but the real appeal of Rogue's burgers are their toppings. The fiery Bloomin' Jalapeño Burger ($7.95), with onion rings, lots of the eponymous peppers, onion dip and cheddar, is my favorite, though you can also get the Southwestern Burger ($7.95), with green chiles, guacamole and Monterey Jack; a trio of mini burgers with caramelized onion and blue cheese ($7.95); or a plain ol' burger ($6.95, plus 50 cents each for cheese and bacon). If you're up for a challenge, there's also The Big "E" ($27.95), a two-pound version of the Southwestern Burger.

Rogue Burger with Homemade Garlic and Peppercorn Chips

It was the "plain ol' burger" that took me to Rogue Tavern for lunch. I was able to order it medium and topped it with cheese. The accompanying item was homemade garlic and peppercorn potato chips. The burger was wonderfully juicy and flavorful and the potato chips non greasy and also flavorful. The burger definitely lived up to its reputation and recommendation.

Portobello Mushroom Burger with Homemade Garlic and Peppercorn Chips

We passed on the desserts.....today, but I am excited to know that the white chocolate bread pudding appears to be the same or similar to what was served at the now closed Prairie Fire Grille - the best bread pudding ever.

Good service, good food, good atmosphere
5 of 5 stars
See menu here.

Pepper Place Summer Market

Every Saturday morning in the summer, Birmingham residents gather to purchase farm fresh produce, cheeses, artisan breads, and much more. Music accompanies the shoppers, both recorded and live. It has become a Birmingham tradition and is located in the Design Center area.

Chilton County peaches

Artisan Breads - Continental Bakery

Fruits and vegetables - reasonably priced and delicious

This Saturday's chef was Chris Dupont from Cafe Dupont, who was discussing, preparing, and serving recipes featuring watermelon. He buys his watermelons from an Alabama local, Averiett Branch Farm.  However, he says good watermelons are becoming more difficult to find and the best watermelons are now coming from China.

We were served: 1) watermelon sorbet as a popsicle and difficult to keep from melting in the heat, and 2) a salad of watermelon, arugula, goat cheese, pickled watermelon rind, thinly sliced onion, and toasted watermelon seeds with a watermelon vinaigrette (watermelon juice and a raspberry vinaigrette). Delicious!

Strollers and dogs are common at the market but, in this case, we saw a stroller for dogs.

I had the opportunity to meet the self-named "Tomato Snob", and she has every reason to be a snob about her tomatoes. She claims if you eat one of her tomatoes you will come back for more, and she is right! Next Saturday, same time. I'll be there!

NOTE: I am looking for a pickled watermelon rind recipe. The bowl of pickled watermelon rind had fresh sage and thyme. Most of the recipes I have found contain cinnamon and sugar. Any suggestions would be appreciated!

Super Markets!

I am delighted to find myself living between The Fresh Market and Whole Foods Market! I set out on a supermarket search today and I am literally one block from The Fresh Market! I apologize for all the exclamation marks, but my punctuation is the only way I can express my excitement in writing. Unfortunately, I have a Target grocery shopping budget, but it is still fun to look. I will never be unable to find a recipe ingredient again!

11 Best Foods We Aren't Eating, But Should

I ran across this list again today complied by Dr. Jonny Bowden, 'nutritionist' and author, and posted by Tara Parker Pope in The New York Times. It was also listed as one of the most-viewed posts in 2009 so chances are you saw it too. But, as a reminder, I thought it worth reprinting here:

Beets*: Think of beets as red spinach, Dr. Bowden said, because they are a rich source of folate as well as natural red pigments that may be cancer fighters.
How to eat: Fresh, raw and grated to make a salad. Heating decreases the antioxidant power.

Cabbage: Loaded with nutrients like sulforaphane, a chemical said to boost cancer-fighting enzymes.
How to eat: Asian-style slaw or as a crunchy topping on burgers and sandwiches.

Swiss chard: A leafy green vegetable packed with carotenoids that protect aging eyes.
How to eat it: Chop and saute in olive oil.

Cinnamon: May help control blood sugar and cholesterol.
How to eat it: Sprinkle on coffee or oatmeal.

Pomegranate juice: Appears to lower blood pressure and loaded with antioxidants.
How to eat: Just drink it.

Dried plums: Okay, so they are really prunes, but they are packed with antioxidants.
How to eat: Wrapped in prosciutto and baked.

Pumpkin seeds: The most nutritious part of the pumpkin and packed with magnesium; high levels of the mineral are associated with lower risk for early death.
How to eat: Roasted as a snack, or sprinkled on salad.

Sardines: Dr. Bowden calls them “health food in a can.” They are high in omega-3’s, contain virtually no mercury and are loaded with calcium. They also contain iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, zinc, copper and manganese as well as a full complement of B vitamins.
How to eat: Choose sardines packed in olive or sardine oil. Eat plain, mixed with salad, on toast, or mashed with Dijon mustard and onions as a spread.

Turmeric: The “superstar of spices,” it may have anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer properties.
How to eat: Mix with scrambled eggs or in any vegetable dish.

Frozen blueberries: Even though freezing can degrade some of the nutrients in fruits and vegetables, frozen blueberries are available year-round and don’t spoil; associated with better memory in animal studies.
How to eat: Blended with yogurt or chocolate soy milk and sprinkled with crushed almonds.

Canned pumpkin: A low-calorie vegetable that is high in fiber and immune-stimulating vitamin A; fills you up on very few calories.
How to eat: Mix with a little butter, cinnamon and nutmeg.

Five recipes for beets from Martha Rose Shulman here.

That's A Pizza

When it is under 80 degrees, I will be able to walk to get my favorite Birmingham pizza: the spinach and mushroom with garlic and onions from Salvatore's Pizza & Pasta. Until a suitable temperature, I will have the indoor dining, pleasant outdoor dining, or the drive-through to enjoy my authentic Italian cuisine.

While it is true that I've never really eaten authentic Italian cuisine, I imagine this is how it would taste. This pizza is equivalent to lasagna on pizza dough with a little spinach thrown in for texture, flavor, and color.

From their website:

Salvatore followed in his father’s footsteps when he chose to be a chef. Salvatore’s dad, Vincenzo, emigrated to NY City from Naples, Italy in 1930, and worked as a chef in the famed ‘Vesuvius’ Italian restaurant in mid-Manhattan.


Through the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s, Vincenzo had restaurants in NY City and upstate NY. In the 70’s, Salvatore worked with his dad and learned his craft. His meticulous care in food preparation and use of the finest ingredients is self-evident in his dishes.


His food is consistently delicious. All the sauces are home made by Salvatore as are the other foods served. They bring back the aromas and tastes of an era long past, remembered by some and seldom found elsewhere.

Sorry, Pizza Hut and Domino's. I'm in Birmingham now.

Review: Urban Cookhouse

In a perfect Homewood location sits the unpretentious and very busy Urban Cookhouse, which describes itself as a farm-to-table restaurant. My companion and I found it to be casual, yet attractive; small, yet comfortable.

Lacking any visible directions when we walked in, it fell to one of the patrons to tell us where to order. My objective was to first try what I had read to be the specialities - the chicken salad and Millie Ray's orange rolls. I ordered the chicken salad and fresh fruit with a basket of orange rolls to share and strawberry lemonade. The chicken salad was served as a plain scoop on a bed of lettuce, along with the fruit (cantaloupe, red and green apples, orange, watermelon, red grapes) and an orange roll. There was a container of dressing that could not be identified, one that visibly looked like honey mustard but had no distinguishable flavor to suggest how it could be used and that neither of us thought tasted good. The orange rolls were crunchy on the outside but moist inside. My companion said they were comparable to those served at The Club of Birmingham. The strawberry lemonade was somewhat bland, but the fresh fruit was absolutely delicious. The cantaloupe was perfect.

The chicken salad was packed but not dry, mayo-based but not watery. It had a great flavor; I only saw a possible small pimento as an added ingredient. My best bet, though, might have been the chicken salad sandwich: crushed pecans, housemade pickles, pimentos on wheat bread with lettuce and local tomatoes.

My companion ordered the B.A.L.T. (applewood bacon, avocado, lettuce, tomato) sandwich on toasted bun with mayo and the broccoli salad. The salad appeared to be a popular item and contained (my guess) red grapes, bacon, and sunflower seeds mixed in a light, but creamy vinaigrette.

My food was very good, although not outstanding. There was nothing I wanted to buy to take home, although container items were for sale. I would definitely go back to try some of the other menu items and plan to visit their Saturday morning market featuring local farmers. Prices were $10 to $12 per meal.

Urban Cookhouse menu here and on Facebook.