Southern Cuisine

Posted by Cyndi Allison

You may not want to read the recent restaurant study by the Center for Science in the Public Interest before you go out to dinner. The non-profit group reviewed over 500 restaurant review reports across 20 cities and found that 2/3 were cited for food safety violations.

Restaurants problems ranged from food at inappropriate temperatures and unclean work spaces. Thirteen percent of the restaurants checked had documented issues with bugs and/or rodents.

It's hard for the average citizen to get reports on restaurants, and the restaurant reports are difficult to read and understand. That's why the Center for Science in the Public Interest decided to tackle this project.

Since 40% of food borne illness issues are restaurant related versus about half that for home meals, it makes sense for folks to know what's going on behind closed doors at their favorite eateries. If people knew that mouse droppings were found in the ice machine at a local restaurant, that could make a huge difference in terms of eating there.

The Center for Science is asking that restaurants be required to post inspection grades. Restaurants who do post appear to work harder at making sure they keep things clean and healthy. The group is also calling for more user friendly reports that would be easy for the general public to understand.

Posted by Cyndi Allison

I've been grilling almost as long as I can remember, so I've made most every mistake you can make when it comes to grilling. I rock the grill almost every time now, but it took some time and effort to get to that point - and some mistakes.

Several readers have emailed about various problems with grilled hamburgers. Difficulties range from grilled burgers falling apart to them sticking to the grates to flavor issues.

There are a number of things that can impact on your success with grilled hamburgers, so I wrote up a Grilled Hamburger Troubleshooting Guide. That covers all the various questions I've been asked about burger grilling plus others I thought folks might be too shy to bring up.

The main thing I'd say is that you are not alone. Plenty of other folks have had failures on the grill. The main thing is not to give up. Grilling out is fun. Grilled food is fabulous. Don't let one outdoor cooking flop turn you off to grilling. Once you figure out what went wrong, you won't do it again. Trust me. I've learned the hard way. Now, grilling is second nature, but I do remember some of the food I've served and eaten off my various grills. Shudder. Some were not too pretty. Some were not too tasty. But, I got the hang of it, and now I'd just as soon cook outside any day.

Posted by Cyndi Allison

It's less than two hours until tax free weekend in North Carolina. This is always a big deal. It's not as wild as Black Friday, but it's close.

North Carolina is not the only state that offers sales tax relief during certain times. You can check the state list and see which states are tax free and when and also which goods are on the list.

On my end, I wish they would shift the NC tax free weekend until after the first week of school. The way it stands, you don't even know what the kiddies need to buy, so you just grab stuff, go, and pray. I always get loose leaf paper and Kleenix. Kids always can use the paper, and the schools must have a major shortage on Kleenix as they always ask parents to send more.

This year I have to factor the gas to go to town and shop tax free. Gas is not tax free - of course. I figure it takes about $8 to town and back. Sales tax is around 7%. If I don't go over $100 on school related purchases, then I don't even break even.

On the other hand, many online stores are tax free but don't always have what I need and may have high shipping charges.

Am I going tax free shopping? Not sure. I hate the crowds. I end up buying things that don't count on tax free. I buy things that I think we may need but don't. I end up eating out, because it takes time and energy to shop, and I just can't pass up a chance to eat out when there's not much here in town as far as eat out. All in all, I probably end up paying more for tax free weekend than I benefit.

Posted by Cyndi Allison

The Federal Trade Commission reports that food companies are doing a better job in stressing nutrition for children and teens - to the tune of $1.6 billion in ads yearly. Hum. Well, that's not all spent to promote nutrition of course. Most of the ad budget is doled out freely to get the kids to beg you to buy specific brands and to eat at certain restaurants.

You don't think McDonalds sells you cheap Happy Meals with toys as a community service gesture. Nope. They know how to rope in customers - some before they can even talk. My oldest kid would point and grunt at the Golden Arches before he could talk enough to say he wanted to stop. He, of course, still loves McDonalds (though we most often eat home cooking).

If you've never seen the Eddie Murphy comedy sketch on McDonalds burgers, you ought to give that a look. You can just imagine him as a kid and his Momma's home burgers with green peppers sticking out and served on white bread. He probably appreciates those now, but a kid sees the others with those burgers wrapped in M papers. Very cool. Not such tasty burgers. Oh well. That's what most of them want.

We live out in the middle of nowhere basically, so home cooking is the norm. The boys would really rather have a home cooked meal. They do watch TV though, and they do ask for things they see. We end up with cereal that looks great on TV but does not taste so wonderful at home. Guess who gets to eat the cereal and who gets the free toy?

Posted by Cyndi Allison

Crisco has come out with some great flavored non-stick sprays. There's butter, olive oil and the regular. They're all good. I like the olive oil especially on the grill. It adds a little kick of flavor. Very nice.

The press buttons on the Crisco sprays are very well designed. They are larger than the usual press spray buttons. And, they don't splatter and drip. Great design.

If you try out any of the new Crisco sprays, be sure to enter the Grill a Day contest at Crisco. In addition to giving away a nice Coleman tailgate grill every day this summer (2008), they also have a grand prize of a $10,000 backyard make-over.

I've always loved Crisco products, and these new non-stick sprays are no exception. I'm using them mostly on the grill right now, since it's summertime (and we cook out most days). They also work great on the George Foreman indoor grill and for general cooking too.

Posted by Cyndi Allison

I watch Hell's Kitchen now and again, but I clicked in pretty regular this season. We had a local culinary artist competing - Louis Petrozza of Charlotte, NC.

Call me biased, but I was pulling for Petrozza. He'd done the time. He'd earned his stripes.

Gordon Ramsay rode Petrozza hard from the start. Ramsay had issues with Petrozza's laid back style - or that's what he opted to focus on. Ramsay made comments about the Southern guy's slovenly habits in the kitchen. It seemed that Petrozza's messy stations were the worst of his problems. It was hard to argue with the quality of his cooking. He'd have been gone fast if he hadn't been great.

I didn't really think Petrozza had a chance. In addition to being Southern and not a curser, he also checked in at 47 years of age. Three big strikes.

The final cook off looked close. The TV crews slant that - of course. They don't want anyone to know who will win and who will walk off. In the end, it appeared that Petrozza had a better handle on his menu and kitchen staff.

Christina, of course, won. She got bleeped numerous times on the last episode and when she won. I guess it was F-ing great. She was also 25 years old, and Ramsay said he was looking toward the future. It's easier to handle a groupie, and a young'un has more years to give. This is nothing new in the workplace.

Congratulations to Christina. She did do a great job. I wish she'd refused to go the potty mouth route. That may stand her well with Ramsay and in the city. Here, we'll just keep Petrozza and his good attitude and good food. We'll even overlook and even celebrate that he's got a few miles under his belt.

Posted by Cyndi Allison

Parents can enter stories written by their child or children based on prompts at the Subway website. An example prompt for "The Race to Red Onion Ranch" is - "Everyone is gathered in the center of town for the race except . . ."

Prizes include a grand prize of $5000 in athletic equipment for the school of the winning child. There are smaller prizes for the winning child and the runner up entrants.

This contest runs July 1, 2008 through August 31, 2008.

The Subway contest is pretty straightforward and is designed, in part, to promote fitness for school aged children.

Parents homeschooling have, however, complained that the contest is open only to children attending traditional schools and the prize will be donated to a school.

Subway has promised to sponsor another contest open to home-school children. They could, of course, forget contests. Subway is not required to host such events. They may wish they had stuck with the $5 sub deals which apparently don't offend anyone . . . so far.

Posted by Cyndi Allison

If the Democrats want to win friends and influence people at the Denver national democratic convention, then they might want to start with the menu. When the food of your "people" (and especially those of Southern hertitage) are held up as the standard of ridicule, then you're not going to make many brownie points - nor get to eat any brownies either.

Several online news sources including the Atlanta Journal Constitution are reporting that the menu at the convention will be healthy and include three of the following colors: red, yellow, green, white, purple/blue. In addition, no fried foods will be served - period.

In the South, we don't plan our meals by the colors. Nope. It's all about the flavors. We can give you red, yellow, green, white and blue/purple. That's fine. But, cooking is not color by numbers.

We also fry a lot of foods here in the sunny South. That's not all we do. We love our fresh garden vegetables and southern grown fruits. It's all about the seasons and the balance.

Government has gotten bigger and bigger but sure not better and better. There are issues much more complex and important than the menu at the convention.

However, banning the food of an area where Democrats struggle is not such a grand idea.

Perhaps Democrats could look on the sunny side. Request what you do want rather than listing a ban on our Southern fried chicken, chicken fried steak, and okra rolled in cornmeal and fried in butter.

Or, put the food out there and let folks decide.

The big brother attitude of the Democratic party has not been setting well in the South, and it's not likely to improve when they talk trash on our Mamma's cooking.

Posted by Cyndi Allison

There are loads of options if you're thinking about a 4th of July cookout.

If you're a beginner, consider hot dogs. They are inexpensive and super easy to grill.

Grilled hamburgers are always a good pick. Try hand patting the burgers. It does make a difference.

For a smaller group, steak is always great. You won't find many people who will turn down a perfectly grilled rib eye.

Some other ideas:

Beer Butt Chicken

Pork Pineapple Kabobs

Shrimp

Grilled Lobster

And, don't forget the barbecue side dishes:

Baked Beans with Hamburger

Grilled Corn on the Cob

Hash Browns on the Grill

Best Ever Potato Salad

Easy Summer Pasta Salad

Posted by Cyndi Allison

The UPS man just came by with my package of La Cense grass fed beef.

I've been concerned about reports of cows being mistreated and "downer cows" being butchered and sold. Then there are the pesticides and antibiotics. Whew. Makes me think twice when I get ready to cook.

I read up on La Cense and liked what I heard. They rotate the cows on pastureland with natural grass. The cows are not packed in feeding houses like most grocery bound cows. This approach, of course, takes longer and costs a little more, but I think we get in too big of a hurry these days.

La Cense meat is better for us. With natural feeding, the fat levels are lower. Grass fed means fat levels similar to chicken breasts. That's a good thing. And, the flavor is fabulous. I ate a lot of fresh beef from my Poppaw's small family farm. That was some great eating.

We're grilling out tomorrow night, and I'm excited. The La Cense beef looks really super. I have the steak and kabob chunks thawing in the refrigerator.

If you're looking for beef from a humane farm and 100% grass fed, then check out La Cense. For some good recipes and tips, you can visit Yes You Can Grill and get lots of ideas.