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Julia Reed’s South: Spirited Entertaining and High-Style Fun All Year Long
By
Published: Jun 05, 2016
Category:
Food and Wine
Julia Reed is from Greenville, Mississippi (population: 33,000), and on the first page of this, her sixth book, she acknowledges the history of her home town: “An 1840s slave-built levee fronts our property and serves as a tangible reminder of both the dangers of the Delta and the misdeeds of our past… My mother led the fight to get the builders’ efforts acknowledged with a historic marker…”
I was glad to read that in a book about Southern entertaining.
I also noted that the book’s 150 photos featured not a single black guest. And the gorgeous place settings (she favors fine Hungarian china), the polished antiques, the shopping and cooking — I have to think a good part of the preparation for those parties and those photos was undertaken by unknown and, as far as I can tell, unacknowledged black hands.
Just saying. But it’s 2016, people — if I praised a book of Southern recipes and raved about many of them and didn’t say a word about Race, would I not be overlooking something?
Let’s move on.
This is not a cookbook for purists. Ms. Reed uses Pepperidge Farm Very Thin white bread for her mock cheese soufflé. She endorses Uncle Ben’s Original Converted Rice. She has served Popeye’s fried chicken at a New York dinner party. Bless her timesaving heart for these short cuts and innovations.
The book is organized around eleven seasonal events, because Julia Reed likes to give parties and people like to go to them and who needs a book about Southern cooking for your family? Each chapter has a menu, notes about table settings and the occasional playlist. Cocktails? Ms. Reed and her friends do not toke up before parties. They drink. And here are the cocktail recipes to prove it.
Here in Manhattan, and perhaps where you are, the legendary affability of Southern hostesses is nowhere to be found. We scramble to get through our days. If we buy a cookbook, it’s for the recipes. And many of Ms. Reed’s ring the bell. [To buy the book from Amazon, click here.]
Grilled Deviled Crab & Cheese Sandwiches
makes about 15 sandwich triangles
4 tablespoons (½ stick) butter, plus more for grilling
1 cup finely diced andouille sausage
1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped (about 1 cup)
¼ cup thinly sliced scallions, including some of the green tops
¾ cup heavy cream
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
¾ cup grated good Cheddar cheese
1 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
1 ½ teaspoons Lea & Perrins Worcestershire sauce
1 large egg yolk
1 pound lump crabmeat, picked over for shells and patted dry
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1 loaf Pepperidge Farm Very Thin Sliced White Bread
½ cup finely minced Italian parsley or chives, or a mixture of both
Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add the sausage and fry for 5 minutes. Drain off all but 1 tablespoon of the fat. Add the onion and sauté until soft, about 8 minutes. Add the scallions, cream, Parmesan, Cheddar, Tabasco, and Worcestershire sauce and still until the mixture is bubbling and thickened, about 8 minutes. Remove from the heat.
Beat the egg yolk in a large bowl. Gradually add about 1 cup of the cheese mixture, mix well, and stir in the rest. Toss the crab in the lemon juice and fold it into the filling. Taste for seasoning and refrigerate, covered with plastic wrap, for at least 1 hour before making the sandwiches. (At this point the filling may be refrigerated overnight.)
To make the sandwiches: Cut the crusts off the bread, spread a layer of crab filling between 2 slices, press them together, and repeat. In a large skillet, melt 1 tablespoon butter over medium heat. Place as many of the sandwiches in the skillet as it will hold. Press down lightly with a spatula and turn over after about 2 minutes, or as soon as the underside is golden brown. Press down again and remove the sandwiches to a warm baking sheet when the flipsides have browned. As you cook, you will likely need to add more butter. If the butter gets too brown after a few batches, you may need to wipe out the pan and start over.
When all the sandwiches are done, spread the minced parsley on a plate. Cut each sandwich in half into triangles and dip the long edges into the herbs. Serve immediately.
Fresh Fruit With Celery Seed Dressing
makes 10 servings
Ms. Reed copied this recipe — a mainstay at gatherings when she was growing up in Mississippi — from her mother’s handwritten files and has made it since she was in college.
The dressing and prepped fruit can be refrigerated, separately, a day in advance.
DRESSING
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon celery seed
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon powdered mustard
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 cup vegetable oil or other neutral-flavored oil, such as canola
Combine the sugar, celery seed, salt, powdered mustard and paprika in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the balloon-whisk attachment or a handheld electric mixer. Beat on medium-high speed for a minute or two, then pour in the vinegar. On medium-high speed, gradually drizzle in the oil, beating until thick and emulsified, to form a shiny dressing. The yield is a scant 1 2/3 cups.
FRUIT
1 ripe cantaloupe, peeled, seeded and cut into 1 1/2-inch chunks
1 pineapple, peeled, cored and cut into 1 1/2-inch chunks
1 bunch green seedless grapes (1 pound)
1 bunch red seedless grapes (11 ounces)
Scant 1 pound strawberries, hulled and cut into halves or quarters, as needed (2 generous cups)
Combine the cantaloupe, pineapple, green and red grapes and strawberries in a large serving bowl. Toss the fruit with the dressing, or serve it on the side.
Pisto
makes 6 to 8 servings
3 tablespoons olive oil
4 cloves garlic, chopped
2 medium yellow onions, chopped
2 pounds zucchini, cut into 3/4-inch cubes
2-1/2 pounds tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped (or the equivalent of canned diced tomatoes, about 1 large and 1 small can)
1/2 teaspoon sugar or to taste
1 teaspoon salt or to taste
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper or to taste
2 eggs, lightly beaten.
Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and onions and cook until soft, about 7 minutes.
Stir in the zucchini, tomatoes, sugar, salt and pepper. After about 5 minutes, add 1/4 cup water and simmer, stirring often, mashing down on the vegetables as they soften. (A potato masher is useful.) Add more water if it cooks out before the vegetables are soft.
When the vegetables are done and the mixture resembles a chunky puree, taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary.
Add the eggs, stirring quickly to incorporate, and remove from heat.
Julia Reed’s Pimm’s Royale
The Pimm’s Cup has been the signature drink at the fabled Napoleon House in New Orleans. A cocktail served at Wimbledon is an odd choice for an establishment named for an emperor whose literal undoing came at the hands of a British general. But no one questions it, and now countless Pimm’s variations, including one with watermelon syrup, are available in bars across town. I discovered my own favorite variation, the Pimm’s Royale, years ago at the Paris Ritz, another decidedly un-English outpost. Crisp, refreshing, and seriously delicious, it has ranked among my favorite cocktails ever since. Even better, the use of champagne as its mixer eliminates all the pesky sparring over whether ginger ale, sparkling lemonade, or 7UP is the proper choice. The only decision here is the cherry. The Ritz uses brandied cherries, which I prefer, but Luxardo gourmet maraschinos are a good second option.
Serves 1
Ingredients
1 ¾ ounces Pimm’s No. 1
Brut champagne
1 cucumber spear, unpeeled
1 lime slice
1 orange slice
1 mint sprig for garnish
1 or 2 brandied cherries for garnish
Fill a goblet or highball glass with ice. Add the Pimm’s, top with Champagne, and add the cucumber spear, lime slice, orange slice, mint sprig, and cherries.
