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Easy, Breezy Recipes with a Southern Accent

I love Mary Kay’s novels and I know she’s one of the great Southern cooks, so I was thrilled to learn she was working on a cookbook. It turned out to be a cookbook to treasure!

Make sure you read this entire post – find out how to win your own copy, there’s a recipe for you to try,  a list of places you can meet Mary Kay, and of course, my review.

From the publisher:

You don’t have to own a beach house to enjoy Mary Kay Andrews’ recipes. All you need is an appetite for delicious, casual dishes, cooked with the best fresh, local ingredients and presented with the breezy flair that make Mary Kay Andrews’ novels a summertime favorite at the beach.

From an early spring dinner of cherry balsamic-glazed pork medallions and bacon-kissed Brussels sprouts to Fourth of July buttermilk-brined fried chicken, potato salad, and pudding parfaits to her New Year’s Day Open House menu of roast oysters, home-cured gravlax, grits ‘n’ greens casserole, and lemon-cream cheese pound cake, this cookbook will supply ideas for menus and recipes designed to put you in a permanently carefree, coastal state of mind all year long.

I’ve been following Mary Kay on Facebook for years, and she shares a lot of recipes and pictures of her beautiful food. To have it all gathered together (with lots more) is a real gift. The paper is quite nice and the pictures are inspirational.

The book is divided into meals/holidays:

 The chapters:

Summer Solstice Dinner
Low Country Boil
Fourth of July Dinner
Lazy Weekend Brunch
Beach Picnic
Book Bash Cocktail Party
After a Day at the Beach
Catch of the Day
Full Moon Party
Game Day Dinner
Souper Supper
Thanksgiving at the Beach
Christmas Brunch
New Year’s Day Open House
Valentine’s Day Sweetheart Dinner
Easter Lunch
Epilogue: And Then There Were Biscuits

The “Summer Solstice” is the first chapter and a fantastic beginning. I’ve been making “Beyond the Grave Chicken Salad” since I read about it in Little Bitty Lies. I’m pretty sure that a good southern gal like Mary Kay most likely uses Duke mayo, but I’m a Hellman’s girl and it works beautifully. I tried the “Tomato Pie” a few weeks ago when I got an overwhelming pile of heirloom tomatoes from my CSA, and it was to die for! If you live anywhere besides Florida, you are coming into tomato season so try and remember to make this. Pimento cheese has become a trend, and I’ve made a few different recipes so I had to try Mary Kay’s “Ritualistic Pimento Cheese.” It made a killer grilled cheese sandwich.

The “Low Country Boil” has some great recipes, and again my CSA to the rescue for Fried Okra Cakes. Like Mary Kay, I’m not a big okra fan but this dish made a convert out of me. I have to try the “Peach and Berry Cobbler” soon, Florida peaches are starting to come in and berries are already here. The “Fourth of July” recipes include “Edna’s Potato Salad” which is a simple recipe and a real crowd pleaser. The “Lazy Weekend Brunch” has a terrific recipe for “Pig Candy” – really! It’s candied bacon with a healthy dash of cayenne and some dry mustard that makes it really stand out.

The “Book Bash Cocktail Party” includes a great recipe for “Smoked Trout Dip.” We love any kind of smoked fish dip and this is a real standout with fresh dill, chives, and some prepared horseradish. The “Marinated Beef Tenderloin with Fig Onion Jam” is another winner – that jam is to die for! I haven’t attempted the “Dark Chocolate-Dipped Cheesecake Bites,” (they sound too dangerous to have at home) so the next office pot luck will be the recipient of these goodies. The “Full Moon Party” includes a super easy recipe for “Cheesy Beer Bread,” and in my house any recipe with cheese is a sure thing. I am waiting for our next backyard cookout to try “Boy Howdy Baked Beans” with maple bacon and bourbon – Yum! I could go on for days but I will end here with the classic, Southern “Shrimp and Grits” from the “Christmas Brunch” chapter and let me tell you, this is simply divine and a true Christmas gift. Follow that up with a “Coconut-Rum Fruit Salad,” (although I will not buy jarred citrus – I live in Florida, it’s probably illegal here!) for a light, slightly boozy dessert.

Now for that promised recipe!

 

To win a copy of THE BEACH HOUSE COOKBOOK by Mary Kay Andrews PLUS the new paperback edition of The Weekenders, please send an email to contest@gmail.com with “BEACH HOUSE COOKBOOK” as the subject.

You must include your U.S. street address in your email.

All entries must be received by May 14, 2017. One (1) name will be drawn from all qualified entries and notified via email. This contest is open to all adults over 18 years of age in the United States only. Your books will be sent by the publicist.

One entry per email address. Subscribers to the monthly newsletter earn an extra entry into every contest. Follow this blog to earn another entry into every contest. Winners may win only one time per year (365 days) for contests with prizes of more than one book. Your email address will not be shared or sold to anyone.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

MARY KAY ANDREWS is the New York Times bestselling author of 24 novels, including The Weekenders, Beach Town, Save the Date, Ladies’ Night, Spring Fever, Summer Rental, The Fixer Upper, Deep Dish, Blue Christmas, Savannah Breeze, Hissy Fit, Little Bitty Lies, and Savannah Blues. A former features writer for The Atlanta Journal Constitution, she finds an outlet for her passion for cooking, entertaining, and decorating with vintage finds at the homes she shares in Atlanta and Tybee Island, Georgia, with her husband, Tom, and their two grown children, Katie and Andy, as well as grandchildren Molly and Griffin. THE BEACH HOUSE COOKBOOK is her first cookbook.

Connect with MKA online here:

Meet Mary Kay!

Savannah, GA | May 4, 11:30am| Savannah Golf Club w/ E Shavers Booksellers
Savannah, GA | May 4, 5:30pm | Brice Hotel w/ E Shavers Booksellers
Charleston, SC | May 5 | High Cotton Author Series w/ Blue Bicycle Books
Atlanta, GA | May 6 | Food that Rocks w/ Bookmiser
Houston, TX | May 8 | Murder by the Book
Fairhope, AL | May 9 | Page & Palette
New Orleans, LA | May 10 | Octavia Books
Red Bank, NJ | May 11, 12pm | AAUW Luncheon, Molly Pitcher Inn
Sea Bright, NJ | May 11, 7pm | Ama w/ River Road Books
Richmond, VA | May 12 | Berkley Hotel w/ Fountain Bookstore
Atlanta, GA | May 13 | Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles Showhouse, Eagle Eye Book Shop
Chapel Hill, NC | May 14 | Southern Seasons
Raleigh, NC | May 15 | Quail Ridge
Winston-Salem, NC | May 16, 1pm | Clemmons Library w/ Bookmarks
Greensboro, NC | May 16, 7pm | Greensboro Library w/ Bookmarks
Greenville, SC | May 17 | Fiction Addiction
Newberry, SC | May 18 | Library Benefit Luncheon w/ Books on Main
Florence, SC | May 18, 6pm | Florence County Library w/ Books-a-Million
Pawleys Island, SC | May 19 | Litchfield Books
Tybee Island, GA | May 20 | Seaside Sisters
Savannah, GA | May 22 | Hadassah Fundraiser
Birmingham, AL | May 23 | Piggy Wiggly w/ Alabama Booksmith
Birmingham, AL | May 23 | Alabama Booksmith
Destin, FL | May 25 | Barnes & Noble Crystal City
Destin, FL | May 25 | Emerald Beach House
Rehoboth Beach, DE | May 27 | Browseabout Books
Bethany Beach, DE | May 27 | Bethany Beach Books
Manteo, NC | May 28 | Duck’s Cottage
Cleveland, OH | May 30 | A Cook And a Book
Cleveland, OH | May 30 Cuyahoga County Public Library
Boonsboro, MD | June 3 | Turn The Page Bookstore
Macon, GA | June 17 | Design, Wine and Dine

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Changing the Game

Eric Wolfinger, Photographer

As promised (in my review of Sheet Pan) here is a review of Melissa Clark’s latest. No thanks to Clarkson Potter, who failed me on this one, but thanks to my library, who did not. Got it!

FYI, if you are not familiar, Melissa Clark is a food columnist (“A Good Appetite”) for the New York Times. She contributes lots of recipes, too, many of which I’ve made. (See her recipes here.) She is a working mom and apparently understands that not all of us want to come home from work and spend hours in the kitchen to get dinner on the table. Nor do we want take out every night. So here she offers us a terrific compromise – easy dinners, often in one pan. I like it!

This is a big, heavy book with over 200 recipes but it is also a beautiful book with lovely photos. The heft is from high quality paper, and when you are cooking out of a cookbook in the kitchen, shit sometimes goes flying and lands on said book. It’s always nice to know that if that happens, the book will still be usable, albeit a little less pretty.  (No worries, library lovers – I don’t drag library books into the kitchen, I know how messy I am.) The chapters:

Introduction & Ingredients to Keep on Hand
Chicken
Meat: Pork, Beef, Veal, Lamb, Duck & Turkey
The Grind
Fish & Seafood
Eggs
Pasta & Noodles
Tofu (& a Touch of Seitan)
Beans, Legumes & Vegetable Dinners
Rice, Farro, Quinoa & Other Grains
Pizzas & Pies
Soups
Salads That Mean It
Dips, Spreads & Go-Withs

I don’t know about you but the first thing I noticed after perusing the table of contents was that there was no desserts chapter. Which is fine. I never make dessert on a weeknight. Fresh fruit is always available and sugar-free Fudgsicles is as fancy as it gets at my house.

The ubiquitous pantry list is available in “Ingredients to Keep on Hand” and it is a practical list. Included are the usual suspects, olive oil, garlic, various vinegars, mustard, and so forth, plus a bunch of things I rarely have like Sichuan peppercorns, pomegranate molasses, preserved  lemons and Indian pickles. On the other hand I was delighted to see za’atar included. Za’Atar is a Middle Eastern spice blend. This was a recent acquisition for me that I got for a Passover recipe and I was wondering where else I would use it. The only recipe I could find in the index was for Za’Atar Chicken with Lemon Yogurt, so guess I’ll be making that soon. And she also tells you how to make it yourself if you don’t want to buy it. Also I’m wondering why she considers it a pantry staple if it’s only used in one recipe out of 200. Or maybe it’s just a crappy index?

So to chicken. There is a two page spread on how to roast a chicken and it’s got some great advice, like choosing a good bird, preferably organic and air chilled, whatever that is. She also explains how to spatchcock or splay a bird. These instructions are followed by several roast chicken recipes. One of the nice things about roasting a whole chicken is that it’s usually quick prep and then just hanging out waiting for dinner. Plus the delicious smell fills the kitchen and gets everyone hungry. Except my husband, who hates chicken. There are lots of other chicken recipes besides the whole roast chicken, so no worries if you have boneless breasts you’re wanting to cook up or some thighs. Melissa’s got you covered.

There are a variety of meat recipes, some of which give you the option of selecting the cut you want, like Peachy Pork or Veal, you decide. The Grind refers to ground meat, like Chorizo Pork Burgers, Kibbe-Style Lamb Meatballs with Herbed Yogurt and Thai Lettuce Wraps. There are some interesting fish recipes, like Vietnamese Caramel Salmon (sweet and spicy, always a fave,) a really good recipe for Fish Tacos with Red Cabbage, Jalapeno, and Lime Slaw, and a Shrimp Banh Mi that you make in your food processor, which works for me.

Eggs gets its own chapter including the basics of frying, boiling, scrambling, poaching, etc. including how to poach an egg in the microwave. If you haven’t turned your family on to “breakfast for dinner” you should. Super easy and my family loves it. Try Spanish Tortilla with Serrano Ham (or sub whatever ham you like.) I love that while the instructions call for two pans, she explains how one pan will work just fine. The Asparagus Frittata with Ricotta and Chives is delicious, just add some good bread and maybe a salad and dinner is done. I’m dying to try the Herbed Parmesan Dutch Baby, after Passover ends I guess – how can I resist, “a giant gougère-style cheese puff meets Yorkshire pudding, with a crisp outer crust and a soft, cheesy, custardy interior.” I can’t.

The pasta chapter has some good recipes like Cacio e Pepe with Asparagus and Peas, Fettucine with Spicy Anchovy Bread Crumbs and Orecchiette with Broccoli Rabe and Almonds, although I subbed some purple broccoli I had gotten from my CSA. I’ve never cooked with tofu (yes, I admit it) but I am determined to learn. My son’s girlfriend is mostly vegetarian and I’d like to make something besides pasta and veggies when they visit. Sweet and Sour Tofu with Corn (and cherry tomatoes, it is beautiful) may be my first attempt. Or Crispy Tofu with Ginger and Spicy Greens – crispy means deep fried and deep fried generally means delicious. There are some interesting legume and veggie recipes as well, like Smashed White Bean Toasts with Roasted Asparagus and Sumac, Asparagus Carbonara and more delicious fried goodies like Fried Halloumi with Spicy Brussels Sprouts.

There are lots more recipes, I haven’t even touched on soups, pizza, salads, etc. (although I can tell you Rustic Shrimp Bisque is going to make an appearance the next cool day we have.) I like this cookbook a lot. I have made many of Melissa’s recipes over the years and she has become a go to for me. Highly recommended.

4/17 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™

DINNER by Melissa Clark. Clarkson Potter (March 7, 2017). ISBN 978-0553448238. 400p.