Guest Post: Fried Okra

This post comes from J.Deal, and let me tell you, this girl is legit. If you're trying to become authentically southern, this is the girl to listen to. Raised in Georgia and North Carolina, J has authority when it comes to all things southern where I am just pretending. And friends, there's not much else more southern than fried okra.

Everyone's first reaction when they hear the word okra is, "Ugh, it's slimy," which is not true at all in this case. It's crisp, flavorful, deep fried, and amazing. Go make yourself some right now (extra points if the okra is from the farmer's market and is uber fresh to boot).

Southern Fried Okra
Serves 4.

• 1 lb okra
• 1 c cornmeal
• 1 tbsp salt
• 2 tsp ground black pepper
• 1 c buttermilk
• vegetable oil

Choose okra that is an even green color and 2" - 4" long. Trim stem ends from okra and cut into 3/4" lengths. Soak in buttermilk for 15 minutes.

Mix cornmeal, salt, and pepper in a plastic bag. Add okra and toss to coat.

Heat 1/2" oil in a 10" skillet (cast iron is traditional) over medium high heat. When oil begins to shimmer, sift excess cornmeal mixture from okra and add to skillet. Cook, turning occasionally, until golden brown. (Stir gently to avoid losing coating.) Drain on paper towels and salt again if needed.

Broccoli Salad

People, I don't measure. I'm sorry. Sometimes I try to measure, knowing full well that I'm going to have to write up a list of ingredients to put on the blog, but it's just not that easy. As you go along, you realize that you need a little more of this, or you just use handfulls rather than measuring cups. Sometimes you measure all the ingredients, but then you throw a little more on top as a garnish at the end. People, I just assume that you are intelligent and creative and will add more or less onion if you feel like it.

So, with that out of the way, let's talk about the recipe.

I don't particularly think of this as anything fancy or special--you can find this is the deli isle of almost any grocery store on earth next to the cole slaw and potato salad--but I pulled this one out at a church potluck, and people loved it. To mean, this salad screams summer, grilling, outdoors, picnics, etc. Most of the time, the bacon and cheese are most prominent in this salad, but I really like it to be a little sweeter with more emphasis on the cashews and cranberries. Hopefully you like it, too.

Broccoli Salad

for the salad

• About 2 pounds broccoli crowns, chopped into small, bite-size pieces
• 1/2 red onion, finely chopped
• 2/3 cup dried cranberries, plus additional for garnishing
  
• 2/3 heaping cup roasted cashew halves, plus additional for garnishing
  
• about 1/3 cup shredded cheddar cheese (I pretty much just garnish with it)
• 2-3 slices crispy bacon, chopped

for the dressing

• 1.5 cup mayonnaise
  
• 1.5 tablespoons fruity vinegar (I use a raspberry white balsamic)
• 2 heaping tablespoons sugar

Mix all the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, mix the dressing well. Immediately before serving (you don't want the nuts to get soggy), fold the dressing into the salad, stirring until well-coated. Top with retained cranberries and cashews.

Pretending-to-be-Southern Banana Pudding

In my increasing quest to become more southern, I've been playing around with some of the local cuisine. Some of my attempts have been proving more successful than others. This one, "Not yo' mama's banana pudding," was a find, let me tell you, from Paula Deen, the national face of televised southern cooking.  I've made a few tweaks, and added some decidedly non-Southern garnishes.

Banana pudding is something of an institution here in North Carolina: the perfect conclusion to a meal of barbecue pork and hush puppies. Although there is precious little "cooking" involved in this recipe, the results are pretty amazing. The texture is a light lighter and more fulfilling than a run-of-the-mill from the box pudding, and the flavor is a lot deeper, too. My native southern friends were impressed (one even said it was better than Grandma's, and that, my friends, it a compliment I will proudly accept).

Paula's recipe has you make all these separate combinations of ingredients, then add them together at the end, but I have always just made it in a Kitchenaid stand mixer, adding one ingredient at a time, and it's turned out great for me.

Now, when you defenders of Southern cuisine look down at the list and become irate at instant pudding mix (vanilla, nonetheless), even the suggestion of nuts and chocolate, or the lack of any kind of heat source, just remind yourself of the prep time: 10 minutes, tops.  I know that Grandma probably spent hours over the stove, slowly simmering the pudding to banana perfection, but I have quickly whipped this up as a last-minute dessert enough times to know that sacrificing a little authenticity is definitely worth the payback in awesomeness and easiness.  


Pretending-to-be-Southern Banana Pudding

Ingredients

• 1 8-0z package cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1 14-oz can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 5-oz box instant vanilla pudding mix
• 2 cups cold milk
• 1 12-oz container whipped cream
• 2-3 cups vanilla wafers or other-similar cookie (chessman, butter cookies, graham crackers, etc.)
• several sliced bananas

 Optional garnishes:

• About 1/2 cup toasted almond slices
• Chocolate shavings (I use a vegetable peeler on the side of chocolate bar)
  

With a hand-mixer or stand-mixer, blend together the cream cheese and sweetened condensed milk until smooth and homogenized. Add the pudding mix and the milk, and continue to blend until smooth. Carefully fold in the whipped cream, and layer with the cookies and sliced bananas. The pudding will firm up as it cools.  Just before serving, top with fresh banana slices, cookies, and nuts and/or chocolate (if desired).