Every May and June I look forward to the fresh influx of Vidalia onions into the supermarkets.  Being a Georgia girl, I took them for granted when I was down South; now that I live far away, I greedily fill up my grocery buggy and usher them into their new home … aka my pantry.  In fact, I’ve started to hoard them a bit already – resorting to the old fashioned storage option of hanging in pantyhose legs even though they feasibly will be available through the late fall thanks to advanced storage technology borrowed from the apple growers.

But for the benefit of non-Southerners, let me first help out with some general info points & phonetics here.  Vidalia is a town in the state of Georgia, about an hour or so due west of Savannah.  It is pronounced with three syllables as [vuh-DAL′-ya] or [vy-DAL′-ya], the variance between the two pronunciations being the first syllable and what type of Southern accent you sport – a soft uptown drawl or a back country twang.  For my Yankee friends, this is NOT pronounced as if it were a town in Italy or a botanical flower.  Pronunciation here in New England has been bastardized by many into four syllables with the inflection on the wrong part (so, so harsh on my tender Southern ears!).  Getting away from the pronunciation thing though, you should know that Vidalia onions are trademarked similar to French champagne, as only certain varieties grown in a specific production area in Southern Georgia can be identified, marketed and distributed as “Vidalia onions.”  The distinguishing attribute of this onion is that it has a high level of sugar and is thus incredibly sweet tasting – due largely to the sandy, low sulfur soil it grows in, as well as the mild climate.  You can further impress your friends at the next cocktail party with the knowledge that the Vidalia onion is Georgia’s official state vegetable.

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Categories: Apps & Nibbles, Brunch Tags: Georgia, Vidalia Onion Confit, Vidalia Onion Quiche, Vidalia Onions, Virginia Willis

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This is one of those unusual finds that I just had to try and share with the general public.  Chile heads will love this post; for others, this may be a fluffy read but with no real life application.  Think on it …

I was on another Google safari when I came across an article titled “The Lip-Smackingly Top 10 Most Unusual and Strange Foods Around the World.” In this blog line of work, one can’t pass up such an opportunity for weirdness!  So I quickly scanned some really nasty looking stuff; it even had pictures to further engage the casual reader.  As I was about to click away in disgust, I saw the name ‘Bloody Leroy’ and found myself hooked … and had to read further.

But I found myself reading teaser material with no background and better yet, no stinking recipe!  All I could latch onto was:  “it has a unique combination of tomatoes and black coffee.”  So OK, tomatoes and black coffee, but what is the drink?  What for?  Who invented it?  Why?  When?  How?  Well folks, I didn’t get too far in the search, and the mystery will have to remain.  The best I’ve been able to collect from my reconnaissance is that the Bloody Leroy is some second cousin to the Bloody Mary (once removed).  It is a concoction that is described in Wikipedia land as having the tomato juice replaced by barbeque sauce.  Before you totally gross out, it’s not a situation as in grab a bottle of your favorite ‘que sauce off the grocery shelf and add alcohol.  It’s a bit more sublime, and closer to where one might make a barbeque sauce from scratch:  a little ketchup, vinegar, mustard, brown sugar, lemon juice, Worcestershire, spices, etc.  But, it has the addition of heat; think of it as a kick ass bloody, appealing to a crowd that would be apt to add extra hot sauce or horseradish to their classic cocktail.

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Categories: Brunch, Cocktails & Beverages Tags: Bloody Leroy, Bloody Mary, Cocktail, Tomato Juice

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All Derby meals need some sweets to round out the day’s festivities.  For many, the dessert of choice is “Derby Pie,” or some close facsimile thereof.  Please note, Derby-Pie® is trademarked (a little more on that in a bit), and the only means to that particular pie is to order direct from Kern’s Kitchen.  For the masses who don’t want to pay the Kern’s premium price but want the taste, you must utilize one of the facsimile recipes that abound – which is fine by me.  In fact, I’ve taken it to a different format, and propose that the perfect finger dessert is what I’m dubbing “Derby Bourbon Tassies.”

I’m hoping most readers will be able to discern what a ‘tassie’ is.  But should you be a know not, then fear not.  The term is a derivative of an old French word “tasset,” or what is a small pouch or cup.  In the baking world, that translates into a tiny pastry cup that is filled with something like pecan filling, lemon curd, a custard or other fruit fillings; in fact, most bakers consider it a type of cookie.  I happen to LOVE tassies (love, love).  On the few occasions my mother would make her ‘pecan cups’ (usually a ladies’ luncheon – not for the kids), I gobbled however many I could get away with!  Even more appealing is that tassies are not just sweet fare, but make fabulous savory appetizers as well with perfect fillings being pimento cheese, crab salad, and sauteed mushrooms to name a few.

So what’s the deal with this trademarked Derby-Pie®?  The history lesson here goes something like this:  what is now known as Derby-Pie® was invented some 50+ years ago as a specialty item at The Melrose Inn, located in Prospect, Kentucky.  Then manager George Kern was the driver behind the secret recipe, with assistance from his parents.  It was officially named after the family members tossed names into a hat; ‘Derby Pie’ was the slip that was drawn.  The recipe is a guarded secret, and that chocolate nut pie is now a famously trademarked item too – one that is vigorously policed by Kern Kitchens and its attorneys to this day.  Hence, nobody can call the pie “Derby Pie,” which just frustrates the hell out of folks.

But as I said, that’s alright by me.  There are a plethora of look-a-like recipes out there that try to capture the specialness of the Derby-Pie®.  You might see titles such as:  Kentucky Bourbon Pie, Kentucky Nut Pie, Run for the Roses Pie, Pegasus Pie, etc.  The basic formula is a blend of chocolate and nuts (walnuts or pecans) that go into a pie shell, along with a brown sugar, butter and egg filling similar to that of pecan pie.  Some recipes add a touch of bourbon, others don’t.  Do I liquor up my tassies?  Absolutely!  My nut cups get bourbonized, big time …

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Categories: Kentucky Derby, Sweets Tags: Bourbon, Derby Bourbon Tassies, Derby Pie, Kentucky Derby, Louisville, Woodford Reserve

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Complementing last week’s appetizer of Benedictine, Derby revelers will no doubt want something a bit more substantial.  After all — drinking, socializing and horse racing can run a body down!  Meet the Kentucky Hot Brown:  chunky roast turkey slices, layered over slices of white bread, cloaked in a cheesy Mornay sauce, then topped with sliced tomatoes and cooked bacon.  The entire piece is then broiled for a few minutes to give everything a bubbly, suntanned look.  Sound tempting?  Then read on …

As the story goes, the Kentucky Hot Brown was an invention of The Brown Hotel of Louisville during the Roaring Twenties.  The chef there, Fred Schmidt, needed something to please the hotel’s dancing party crowd and guests that would want to nosh something late at night; nothing as heavy as a dinner, but different from breakfast.  The sandwich was a hit, and soon became a draw unto itself.  My personal guess is that the revelers were toasted and needed tasty grub to combat the pending hangover – similar to any college student these days headed out to Waffle House at 2am after a frat party.  At any rate, the specialty open faced sandwich had staying power, living long after The Brown Hotel closed down for a period in the early 1970’s.  And somewhere along the way, it became a culinary symbol of the Derby.  Of course, the recipe has mutated and changed over the decades with exponential variations.  Many Kentucky housewives and beyond have made their own version, culled from different Junior League and community cookbooks.

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Categories: Brunch, Kentucky Derby Tags: Chef Fred Schmidt, Chef Joe Castro, Kentucky Derby, Kentucky Hot Brown, Louisville, The Brown Hotel

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The first Saturday of every May is indelibly etched on most Southerners’ calendar:  the Kentucky Derby!  Whether you avidly watch the festivities and race, or simply check the internet or paper the next day for the winner, nearly all give a nod to the prestigious sporting event.  Make no mistake though, the Derby is a SOCIAL event.  And we know what social really means:  lotsa food & booze.

If you’re actually going to the Derby, have sky box seating and are obliged to dress up in that trés British finery, then odds are you will be hosting and/or attending pre-parties and post-parties with lots of good eats & drinks by high priced caterers.  I’d say that if you’re in that crowd, then this post most likely isn’t for you.  I’m out to appeal to the masses that are content to sit back with the remote in hand, gazing at their snazzy 52” HD, flat screen TV’s — but with the same good eats and drinks as the “tony” crowd.

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Categories: Apps & Nibbles, Kentucky Derby Tags: Benedictine Spread, Kentucky Derby, Louisville, Miss Jennie C. Benedict

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It’s Easter, and thought I’d share a religious experience of sorts with the foodie crowd.  Forgive the irreverence, but my personal epiphany was around something warm, yeasty and buttery with the intoxicating aroma of cinnamon.  I’m talking about Moravian Sugar Cake.  A couple of bites of this and you’ll have a life altering experience that will invoke deep, gluttonous thoughts.  I was bowled over by this regional treat several years ago when visiting some friends in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.  I had joined the couple and some extended family of theirs for social festivities, and I kept hearing the phrase lobbied over my head:

“Did you take her to Dewey’s yet”?” … “You gotta take her to Dewey’s.”

Hmmmm, sounded suspiciously like a “wings ‘n rings” beer joint for the local Bubbas.  Politely, I asked about Dewey’s.  One of those in the know said that Dewey’s was a bakery that had the BEST cake ever.  That when you went, you had to buy several cakes, since they didn’t last too long.  Must be good cake I thought, considering this fellow kept talking about it.  OK, consider me hooked.  After a day or two more, complete with wining, dining, shopping and yakking — someone else asked my friend:  “Did you take her to Dewey’s yet?”  My curiosity was getting hard to manage; I didn’t know if I would last much longer.

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Categories: Sweets Tags: Moravian Sugar Cake, North Carolina, Winston-Salem

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