Nothin' but Net
We've got the hoopla

 

By Rachelle Branca

 

When March rolls around, there’s only one thing on every Triangle resident’s mind — basketball. To celebrate the games, invite your friends to dine on these simple, yet delectable Southern eats.

Your March Madness spread features fried chicken BLTs, baked beans, chili and other mouthwatering munchies. Even if your gathering is a mingling of Tar Heel, Blue Devil and Wolfpack fans, they’ll be sure to agree on what you’re dishing out!

 

Tupelo Honey Cafe: Spirited Recipes from Asheville’s New South Kitchen
By Elizabeth Sims with Chef Brian Sonoskus
Published by Andrews McMeel

Southern Fried Chicken BLT

Soaking the chicken overnight in buttermilk renders the chicken juicy and tender beyond belief. This yummy sandwich is at its sublime-ist when local tomatoes are in season and you’ve got access to incredible bacon.
Two (6-ounce) boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 cups buttermilk
4 slices bacon
2 cups canola oil
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons cornstarch
3/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 hoagie rolls
2 teaspoons unsalted butter
4 teaspoons dijonnaise
Romaine lettuce
1 red ripe tomato, sliced

Place the chicken in a small bowl and cover with the buttermilk. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate to marinate overnight or for at least 1 hour.

In a cast-iron skillet, cook the bacon until crisp, transferring to paper towels when done. Add the canola oil to the bacon drippings in the skillet and increase the heat to medium or 350 degrees, until the oil begins to bubble.

In a second bowl, combine the flour, cornstarch, salt and pepper, mixing thoroughly. With kitchen tongs, remove the chicken breasts from the buttermilk and dredge in the dry-ingredients mixture until the chicken is completely coated.

Carefully place the chicken, using tongs, into the hot oil and brown for about 5 minutes per side, or until the breast is golden brown and crispy. Remove the chicken from the hot oil and drain on paper towels. Slice the rolls in half and lightly butter each side before placing butter-side down in a sauté pan or skillet over medium heat until grilled.

Build your sandwich like this: On the bottom roll, put 1 teaspoon dijonnaise, and then layer lettuce. Place 1 teaspoon dijonnaise on top of the lettuce and alternate dijonnaise with the remaining ingredients in this order: tomato, chicken, bacon. Cover with the top half of the hoagie roll.
Makes 2 servings

Tupelo Honey Coleslaw

From barbecues to fish frys, coleslaw is the preferred side. Cooks around the South will swear by theirs, whether it’s hot and vinegary or creamy and slightly sweet. Your choice depends on your mood, but we think ours, which is a mash-up of creamy and vinegary, is pretty darn good anytime. And it’s pretty to look at, to boot.
4 cups shredded green cabbage (from 1 medium cabbage)
2 cups shredded red cabbage (from 1 small red cabbage)
1 cup peeled, shredded carrot (about 2 large carrots)
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
4-1/2 teaspoons ketchup
5 tablespoons sugar
1 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons stone-ground mustard
1/8 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
4-1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup canola oil

Combine the green cabbage, red cabbage and carrot in a large bowl.

In a separate bowl, combine the vinegar, ketchup and sugar, and stir until the sugar is dissolved.

Put the vinegar mixture in a food processor and add the mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, stone-ground mustard, hot pepper sauce, Worcestershire, salt and pepper. Blend and slowly drizzle in the canola oil until the mixture is emulsified.

Combine the vegetables with the dressing, adding the dressing a little at a time until it suits your personal slaw-to-dressing ratio. Any leftover dressing can be refrigerated in an airtight container for 1 week.
Makes 4 to 6 servings

Quick-Fix Southern
By Rebecca Lang
Published by Andrews McMeel

Mama’s Baked Beans

Baked beans have never tasted so good. With the bacon on top and beans bubbling in brown sugar, most tailgaters can’t deny a second helping. If you think you don’t like baked beans, you haven’t had these. I grew up with these beans, and they’re still Mama’s signature dish.
One (28-ounce) can bacon and brown sugar baked beans, drained
1/2 cup ketchup
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup finely diced white onion
4 to 5 slices bacon (about 5 ounces)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Combine the beans, ketchup, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce and onion in a medium mixing bowl. Pour the beans into a lightly greased, 9-by-9-inch baking dish. Top the beans with the bacon slices.

Bake at 375 degrees for 40 minutes or until the bacon is done.
Makes 4 to 6 servings

Butter Bean and Bacon Hummus

Everything from boiled peanuts to black-eyed peas is showing up in hummus recipes all over the South. Dried butter beans take hours to soften up, so I like to use the frozen ones instead. Baby lima beans are what Southerners refer to as butter beans.
One (2-pound) bag frozen baby lima beans
3 slices bacon (about 3 ounces)
3 tablespoons diced Vidalia onion
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tablespoons tahini
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Chopped fresh chives, for garnish

Cook the beans in boiling water according to the package directions, usually about 25 minutes total. Drain and rinse under cold running water. Drain well again.

While the beans cook, prep all the other ingredients.

Place the bacon slices between layers of paper towels and cook until crisp in the microwave, about 3 minutes. Crumble the slices after they have cooled.

Place the bacon and onion in a food processor fitted with the metal blade. Pulse 3 times. Add the beans, olive oil, lemon juice, tahini, salt and pepper. Process until smooth, about 1 minute.

Transfer to a serving bowl and garnish with chopped chives.
Makes 5 cups

Southern Living 1001 Ways to Cook Southern
Edited by Susan Hernandez Ray
Published by Oxmoor House

Playoff Chili (It’s in the bag!)
1 pound ground beef
1 pound ground pork
1 large white onion, chopped
1 large green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 large red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
One (14-1/2-ounce) can diced tomatoes with green chiles
One (12-ounce) bottle beer
One (8-ounce) can tomato sauce
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
One (16-ounce) can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
One (16-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
Fourteen (1-1/4-ounce) bags corn chips
Garnishes: chopped onion, shredded Cheddar cheese, sour cream (optional)

Cook ground beef and next 5 ingredients in a Dutch oven over medium heat 10 minutes or until meat crumbles and is no longer pink. Stir in diced tomatoes with green chiles and next 9 ingredients, and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer 1 hour and 45 minutes, stirring every 20 minutes. Add kidney beans and black beans; cover and cook 15 minutes.

Cut corn chip bags open at one long side. Spoon 1⁄2 cup chili on chips in each bag. Garnish, if desired.
Makes about 7 cups

 

Buttery Dijon Deviled Eggs
1 dozen large hard-cooked
eggs, peeled
1⁄4 cup butter, softened
1⁄4 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1⁄4 teaspoon ground red pepper
Salt to taste
Ground white pepper to taste
Paprika (optional)

Slice eggs in half lengthwise; carefully remove yolks, keeping egg-white halves intact. Mash yolks; stir in butter and next 4 ingredients. Stir in salt and whitepepper to taste.

Spoon or pipe yolk mixture evenly into egg-white halves. Sprinkle with paprika, if desired.

Cover and chill at least 1 hour or until ready to serve.
Makes 2 dozen

 

Desserts 4 Today: Flavorful Desserts With Just Four Ingredients
By Abigail Johnson Dodge
Published by The Taunton Press

 

Strawberry Shortcake Trifle
1 quart strawberries, rinsed, dried and hulled; divided
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 to 3/4 cup (depending on the berries’ sweetness) confectioners’ sugar
40 to 50 (depending on the shape of the bowl) crisp vanilla wafer cookies

Have ready a small 6-cup glass or trifle bowl and make room in the fridge.

Pile half of the strawberries into a food processor or blender. Process until smooth, about1 minute. (You’ll have about 1 cup.) Thinly slice the remaining strawberries and divide into 3 piles.

Pour the heavy cream and 1⁄2 cup of the confectioners’ sugar into a medium bowl. Beat with an electric mixer until firm peaks form when the beaters are lifted. (Don’t forget to stop the mixer before lifting!) Pour the strawberry purée into the whipped cream. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold until well blended. Taste and add more confectioners’ sugar, if desired.

Spoon about l cup of the strawberry cream into the glass bowl. Arrange a single layer of cookies, slightly overlapping, on top of the cream, pressing lightly on each one. Scatter one pile of sliced strawberries on top of the cookies.

Repeat layering with the remaining cream, cookies and strawberries, ending with a layer of cream and decoratively arranging the remaining sliced berries. You’ll have a total of 3 layers of cream, 2 layers of cookies (not including the garnish) and 2 layers of strawberries, not including the garnish.

Cover and refrigerate for at least 8 hours or for up to 1 day. Just before serving, arrange a few of the remaining cookies and the strawberries on top of the cream. Serve chilled.
Makes 4 to 6 servings

Mini Bittersweet Chocolate Cheesecakes
One 8-ounce package cream cheese, at room temperature
1/3 cup granulated sugar
4 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped, divided and melted
1 large egg

Heat the oven to 300 degrees. Line 6 standard muffin tins with foil liners and lightly grease with cooking spray.

Put the cream cheese in a medium bowl. Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until very smooth, about 2 minutes.

Add the sugar and 3 ounces of melted chocolate. Beat on medium-low speed until well blended, about 1 minute. Add the egg and mix until just incorporated.

Spoon the batter into the muffin cups. Bake until the centers of the cheesecakes barely jiggle when nudged, 15 to 18 minutes. Set the muffin tin on a rack to cool completely.

Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve or for up to 3 days. Just before serving, drizzle with the remaining 1 ounce melted chocolate (rewarmed if needed).
Makes 6 servings