Sunday Treat

Don't have to go to work until 2pm today so took the opportunity for a proper Southern breakfast. Yellow grits with Irish butter, two sunny side up cackleberries from the chickens down the road(thanks Carmen and Kelly), homemade sourdough whole wheat toast and Wright's Hickory smoked bacon. Madam had a girl's night out last night so she was sleeping in but I did fix her some buttered toast and a ginger ale when she finally appeared.

Georgia KKK Speaks Up

Fortunately we haven't heard much from Georgia Senator Saxby Chambliss on the health care debate but leave it to him to get his hidden racist comments in when most appropriate. Seems he has some advice for Obama:

Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) said today that, because of angry town hallers and the like, President Obama should show “humility” when he speaks to Congress Wednesday night.

“What you’re seeing is folks on my side anxious to see what the president has to say tomorrow night,” Chambliss said. “I think he’s gonna have to express some humility based on what we’ve seen around the country this August and that’s not his inclination.”

If you are not from the South I will translate that for you...

"Folks on my side" = white people

"express some humility" = let us know he knows his place

"not his inclination" = he's an uppity negro

Here is another example of what the health care reform debate has devolved into. The wingnuts, and conservative GOP types are standing on the sidelines and slinging shit balls onto the field. Throw enough and somebody will get hit or at least step in one. The real debate is going on among the Democrats and the progressives on the Internet as there is sure as hell nothing constructive coming from the right and the media are doing their best to stir the shit. So here is the number 2 asshole from Georgia slinging out a shit ball that when decoded is just a another way of calling Obama "uppity" much like fellow Georgian Lynn Westmoreland.

I think sticking with Paul Krugman's advice is a better choice.

Okra and Tomatoes

While we are talking about food....

Very few people outside the South eat okra and that is understandable. It is a little weird and if you do nothing but boil it, it can be a little daunting what with the 'slime' and all. The thing is that with a little knowledge and the right handling okra can be a delicious food and for gardeners it is pretty easy to grow. It is a required ingredient in a good gumbo since its natural 'slime' thickens the stew just like file powder(sassafras powder).

I did this recipe for the dinner party last weekend for 48 and since that time it has received many compliments...even from people who thought they didn't like okra. While my bread is baking I thought I would cast it out to the ether and save it for eternity.

This recipe is adapted from one I found in 'How to Cook a Pig and Other Back to the Farm Recipes' a cookbook from a previous First Lady of Georgia, Betty Talmadge. The original recipe comes from the Talmadge family black cook Cile.

You'll need:

2 Tablespoons of olive oil (the original recipe calls for bacon drippings)
1 pound of okra, cut in about half in pieces(stem end removed). You can use a 10 oz. package of frozen okra just make sure it is not breaded)
4 fresh tomatoes cut in pieces(peel optional) or a 1 16 oz. can of tomatoes
1 onion chopped ( I use Vidalia onions but use what you have)
1 teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce
kosher salt and pepper to taste
1/2 tsp sugar

Heat the oil or bacon drippings in a large frying pan and add the okra to the hot oil and sprinkle with a dash of kosher salt. Stir the okra over medium high heat until 'the slime goes away" but I just watch until I start to get a little browning on the cut ends of the okra. The high heat will make the slime go away. Add the tomatoes and onions, Worcestershire and sugar and pepper and additional salt if you want and transfer to an oven proof casserole. Cover and bake for about 45 minutes to an hour in a 350F oven. You can keep this warm for a while before serving. One thing you don't want to do is add any additional water or will get the slime back. This should serve 4 or 6 people as a side dish. You can cook this dish all on the stove top but I think the baking makes a better product.

Like I said above I made a large batch based of this recipe (5 pounds of okra) for 48 people last weekend and it was a big hit even with non okra eaters. I did use canned San Marzano tomatoes in my dish because that is what I had on hand and I also added thinly sliced heirloom tomatoes on top before baking. It held up very well even after sitting in a warm oven for two hours.

Give it a try.

Old Fashioned Fruit Cobbler

It is definitely summertime here in the deep South and here in Georgia it means blueberries and peaches and a little later blackberries. All of these fruits make wonderful cobblers and while there are hundreds of variations on how to make a cobbler, I thought I would share a very old fashioned Southern recipe that is easy and works well with all three fruits. You will find this recipe in all kinds of compilations of Southern recipes or slight variations thereof. I am going to give the basic recipe but you can cut back a little on the sugar in the batter and, of course, adjust the sugar you put in the fruit depending on how naturally sweet it is or how sweet you like it. This is really best when it is still warm from the oven with a little cream(whipped or not) or vanilla ice cream. It is absolutely decadent with a creme Anglais or boiled custard. It is still edible the next day but not nearly as good as when it is warm. This recipe will make enough for 8 good servings.

Preheat your oven to 350F and make sure the rack is in the center of the oven.
In a largish casserole( I use a Pyrex 8x12 inch rectangular one) melt one stick of butter(regular butter( not unsalted) and don't substitute margarine)

Make a batter of:
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
3 tsp baking powder
1 cup of milk

If using peaches, peel and slice enough peaches to wind up with about 2 to 2 and a half cups of fruit. Depending on the ripeness and sweetness add up to a cup of sugar to the peaches and let sit for a few minutes.

If using blueberries mix 2 or so cups of fresh blueberries with a half cup of sugar and let them sit for a few minutes. The same applies for blackberries just adjust the sugar for the sweetness you want.

If you want you can mix peaches and blueberries ( a cup of each).

Assemble the cobbler:
Pour the batter mixture into the pan over the melted butter but DO NOT STIR. Carefully spoon your fruit mixture over the batter and butter(make sure you get all the juice) and again DO NOT STIR. Place this in the oven for 50 minutes to an hour or until the top is nicely brown and you can see the fruit juice bubbling along the edges of the pan. Remove from the oven and let it cool for 20 or 30 minutes before serving with cream or ice cream. Best when served still nice and warm from the oven.

Of course you can use other fruit besides these three(nectarines and plums or greengages come to mind) and you can even use frozen fruit(just thaw it first and add the right amount of sugar). In the dead of winter you can used canned sliced peaches as well. The variation using canned peaches is what you will find at the end of many Southern buffet lines.

Warning the basic recipe makes a pretty sweet cobbler, especially if you use the whole cup of sugar in the fruit but with good fresh fruit it is a wonderful treat.

Being the Good Host

We got our young couple from the UK all settled in last night and they are off shopping with Madam today. As usual I am preparing dinner. Tonight we are going Southern. I've got some pork spare ribs smoking out back right now (got a great deal at Whole Foods yesterday as they were only $2.99 a pound!). I got an even better deal today at the market when the fresh corn was only 25 cents an ear and it looks pretty nice. It's from Florida, of course, so it isn't actually local...but close. It will be grilled in the husk and will be a nice complement to the ribs.

I broke down and bought a pineapple from Puerto Rico to throw on the grill as well. Again, not local but we don't grow much pineapple in Georgia. A nice salad from the garden and some homemade bread and we are good.

Mississippi Caviar

In the spirit of the New Year and to honor the Southern tradition of having black eyed peas for good luck today I thought I would share my first recipe for the year and make it something with black eyed peas.

This recipe originally came from Nathalie Dupree. It’s totally vegan. This makes a good bit so feel free to cut it down but this will keep in the fridge for a week with all the vinegar and it just gets better with a little age. It's meant to be an appetizer but I don't see why in the world you couldn't serve it as a side salad. I haven't tried it but I imagine you could make this with other canned beans or peas and I'm thinking chickpeas (garbanzo) would be especially nice.

Ingredients
3 (16 ounce) cans black-eyed peas, drained
1/2 cup finely chopped green pepper
1/2 cup finely chopped red pepper
3/4 cup finely chopped hot peppers
3/4 cup finely chopped onion
1/4 cup drained, chopped pimento
1 garlic cloves, chopped
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
2/3 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
Salt
Hot sauce
Tortilla chips

Preparation

Combine peas, bell peppers, hot peppers, onion, pimento and garlic. In a separate bowl, whisk together the vinegar, oil and mustard and pour over the bean mixture; mix well. Season to taste with salt and hot sauce. With a wooden spoon or potato masher, mash the bean mixture slightly. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Drain the "caviar" well and serve with pita or tortilla chips.

Enjoy!

Steamboat Bed

I promised PoP that I would post a picture of the finished product. Madam has finished her decorations at Bulloch Hall for the year. The theme for the Christmas decoration this year was "Christmas across the U.S.A." Madam's room is Memphis.
The room is Mittie Bulloch's bedroom and this year the bed was turned into a steamboat. With a little help from yours truly we created a paddle wheel from some plastic irrigation pipe and some foam core and a couple of smoke stacks from a cut in half concrete post form. There is a fan under the bed that makes the paddle wheel turn slowly. Nifty huh?
The rest of the room carries out the Memphis theme. Photos of BB King, WC handy, Elvis, and the Peabody Ducks are around as well as a clear pyramid and a little BBQ vignette.

Sweet Potatoes with Soul

Down South, sweet potatoes are a standard part of the Thanksgiving dinner. There are lots of way to cook them and my family always did the cook and mash with butter, brown sugar and OJ and cover with mini marshmallows and bake routine. They are fine and still bring the same memories as the old standby...green bean casserole(not a fave).

Being a good southern boy, and as is typical of my generation, my brothers and I were raised, in large part, by a black maid. In my case her name was Hattie Mae and she was the spitting image of the woman depicted on the old Aunt Jemima pancake syrup bottle. Big and jolly and amazingly good natured when you consider the raw deal life had dealt her and her race in pre-sixties America. She cooked a lot of the meals for us and while not fancy she made the most of her ingredients.

Anyhow, she had a way of cooking sweet potatoes that I still use today when I want to do something other than just bake them in their jackets and it is simple and oh so good. You wouldn't know it from looking at at one but sweet potatoes contain quite a bit of moisture and that is the trick behind this method of cooking. You can use this method to cook a few or a whole pile of potatoes...you just have to adjust the other ingredients to the amount of potatoes you are cooking.

You'll need a nice heavy bottomed sauce pan or dutch oven type pan. This is important because you cook the potatoes in their own juice and it takes a while for this to develop. A thin bottomed pan will cause them to burn before they release enough juice to cook.

I usually use the rule of one good sized sweet potato for every person at the table plus one for the pot. Peel them and cut them crosswise into about 3/8 inch slices. Layer the slices in the pan and then cover with plain white sugar. For 4 or 5 largish sweet potatoes I usually use about a half a cup or so. On top of the sugar put some pats of salted butter or if you want margarine. Again, this is by eye but I would say I use about a stick(1/4 pound) for 5 large potatoes. Cover the pot and put it on the stove over low heat for about 45 minutes or a little longer(depends on what low means to you). You don't have to stir them or anything. After about 45 minutes check on them and you should find that they have cooked and exuded their moisture which has combined with the sugar and butter to form a nice sweet sauce. The potatoes should be tender and almost falling apart done but not already fallen apart. These will keep in a warm oven for quite a while with no harm or they can even be made ahead and reheated without harm. Just be careful not to stir them much or they will fall apart into mush. If you are going to cook them ahead then don't cook them all the way done and let the reheating finish the job. To serve them, put them in your serving bowl using a slotted spoon and then pour the juice over the top. Again, depending how how long they have cooked you need to be careful not to break them up. You still want to be able to see the slices of potato.

This is a really simple and old fashioned way to cook sweet potatoes but it is so simple that it really brings out the best of a good Southern grown sweet potato. The nice thing is they look so fancy and taste so good people won't believe you when you tell them how they are made.

Apple Picking Time

Updated below:
You know you are in the orchard and the apples are ripe when you can smell the vinegar in the air.The fallen apples have squashed and along with swarms of bees stealing bits of juice they have begun to ferment and the sweet/sour smell is almost overpowering. Everywhere you step you contribute to the riot of smells by mashing another apple or two under your feet. The bees fly up but immediately resettle on the newly mashed apples. There are plenty of apples still on the trees though and you drag your ladder around and around, spying a likely branch still loaded with ripe fruit. The bags fill up rapidly and before you know it three large grocery sacks are filled to overflowing with sweet smelling apples. Not sure of the variety but the tree is old and therefore it is not a new fangled apple but a Winesap, or Rome or some other old timer. Never mind it's name. It is sweet inside and even though it doesn't look like the grocery store apple, all polished and clean, its dull, blackspotted skin protects the juicy crunch inside and it will make fine apple butter or even applesauce.

Madam and I have been down the road apple picking apples this afternoon. A friend owns a large chunk of property including what remains of her family's farm (probably the first farm in this part of Georgia that wasn't a Cherokee farm). There are still old, old apple, pear, peach and persimmon trees scattered about the property and she invited us down to help ourselves as there we more than she and her partner could handle. The first batch of apple butter is in the crockpot and there are apples for at least two more.

Update: The first batch of apple butter is done. A large crockpot full of pared, cored and slice apples cooked down to 4 and a half pints of rich dark apple butter. All out of the water bath and cooling on the counter. Next batch is just starting to cook down. We haven't even started on the apples picked yesterday up the road. All of the apples processed so far came from those Madam picked on the Hewell Farm Saturday at the Turning and Burning. Still have three bushels or there abouts from yesterday's efforts. Looks like a couple of batches of applesauce are in order.

Crockpot Apple Butter

Enough politics! It's fall and the apples are here. Millions and millions of apples are rolling in from the Georgia mountains but it is apple season everywhere. It is the time to capture some of that goodness and apples won't be better or cheaper until next fall. One of the greatest gifts our German ancestors brought to America was Apple Butter. Traditionally it was a time when neighbors would get together and have a big day making gallons and gallons of apple butter over open fires in big copper pots. Most of us don't have the time or the equipment to make apple butter in the traditional way but you can make your own apple butter using a crockpot.

To get you in the spirit let me quote from the Genesse Farmer of 1839 which gives a lovely account of a rural farmstead during the fall when the apples are at their peak.

The host should in the autumn invite his neighbors, particularly the young men and maidens, to make up an apple butter party. Being assembled, let three bushels of fair sweet apples be pared, quartered and the cores removed. Meanwhile, let two barrels of new cider be boiled down to one half. When this is done, commit the prepared apples to the cider, and henceforth let the boiling go on briskly and systematically. But to accomplish the main design. the party must take turns at stirring the contents without cessation, that they do not become attached to the side of the kettle and be burned. Let this stirring go on till the liquid becomes concrete-in other words, till the amalgamated cider and apples become as thick as hasty pudding.

Now to make your own crockpot apple butter:

A 5 quarts or so nice apples(I like tart apples) which should nicely fill your 5 quart crockpot when peeled, cored and chopped into small chunks. I actually fill my crockpot until it almost over flows since the apples will cook down quite a bit. To the apples add 2-4 cups(depends on how sweet your apples are but I usually split the difference and use 3 cups) of granulated sugar and I actually like to use natural sugar and 1/2 cup of sorghum syrup. (You might have to look around for sorghum syrup and if you can't find it you can use light unsulphured molasses) Add 4 teaspoons of good ground cinammon and a 1 teaspoon of ground nutmeg. Some people add a half teaspoon of ground cloves as well but this is a personal taste and I like it both ways.

Set the crockpot on high and cook covered for an hour then turn it to low. Stir and cook covered for another 23 hours or so, stirring every few hours. Yes, it is a long time but this is what it takes. When the apples have become soft enough after a few hours, take a potato masher and break them up. If they look too "liquidy" then leave the lid tipped for a while until they thicken. The mixture should turn a nice dark brown as it cooks and become pretty smooth. Depending on the apples you might have to use a hand blender to smooth out the texture. It should be nice and smooth and not chunky. Once it is done you can jar it up and can it(see note below) or keep it refridgerated. Once you taste it on hot biscuits you will be making this every fall.

An old man up the creek from my Mom used to make apple butter every fall and put it up in quart jars. If you were lucky enough to time it just right he would sell you a couple of jars for five bucks or so. It would go fast so timing was everything. This was made in the traditional way, in a big copper kettle over a hardwood fire and stirred and simmered all day and night. It was absolutely heaven which is where he is probably making it now.

This is a recipe adapted way back when (1998) from an article in the Atlanta paper about Joe Dabney who won a James Beard award for his cookbook Smokehouse Ham, Spoonbread, & Scuppernong Wine. If you want to learn something about Appalachian Mountain cooking this is a great resource.

NOTE: If you are canning this, put into 1/2 pint clean, sterilized jars and seal while hot, then process half-pints or pints 5 minutes in boiling water canner. 1,001 feet to 6,000 feet, process for 10 minutes, and above 6,000 feet, 15 minutes.

The Monk's Potato Salad

It's summer time and time for outdoor eating and picnics and all that stuff. One of my 'mostest' favorite things is a good potato salad. After years of research and experimentation I think I make some very good potato salad--you be the judge. There are actually two variations because you can't always get good small red potatoes and you can almost always find Yukon Gold nowadays. Besides the cooking and prep of the potatoes the recipes are the same. The secret is marinating the potatoes while they are still warm in a vinaigrette either overnight or for an hour or so before final assembly.

14 small boiling potatoes, such as red bliss, about 2 1/2 pounds, scrubbed well
or
2 3/4 pounds of small Yukon Gold potatoes

6 hard-cooked large eggs, roughly chopped
1/3 cup finely chopped red onion or white Vidalia
1/3 cup finely chopped celery
1/3 cup finely chopped green or red bell pepper
3 Tblsp sweet pickle relish (optional)
3/4 cup good mayonnaise (Hellman's is my favorite but Duke's is good too)
1 Tblsp prepared mustard ( I like Gulden's Spicy Brown but any mustard works)
2 tablespoons chopped Italian or flat leaf parsley leaves
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

For the marinade:

1 Tblsp red wine vinegar
3 Tblsp extra virgin olive oil(preferred) or other light oil such as canola or peanut
1 tsp Dijon mustard
pinch of kosher salt
few grinds of black pepper

Place the potatoes in a nice size pot and add enough cool water to cover by 1-inch. salt the water with a couple of tablespoons of kosher salt. (hint: always start potatoes in cool water and bring to the boil) Bring to a boil over high heat and cook until the potatoes are just tender, about 15 to 20 minutes. If using red potatoes --drain, cool, then cut the potatoes into halves or quarters depending on size as you want the end result to be bite size. If using the Yukon Gold then drain and cool to the touch and peel and cut the potatoes into 3/8 inch slices and these slices will break up some in the marinating and final prep.

While the potatoes are cooking make the marinade. This is just a basic vinaigrette and if you are too lazy to make it or don't have the ingredients then you can substitute 4 Tblsp of a bottled Italian salad dressing. Once the potatoes are cooked and prepped but still warm, toss them with the marinade in a large mixing bowl and set aside to let them finish cooling. Stir them once in a while while you are doing the rest of the prep. Once the potatoes are good and cool(you can cook the potatoes the night before and let them marinate overnight which is even better) combine them with all the remaining ingredients and gently toss to combine. Refrigerate the salad several hours before serving to allow the flavors to blend. I usually garnish the salad, once it is in its serving bowl, with thin strips of roasted red pepper or lacking that a dusting of paprika and maybe a few sliced stuffed olives.

Variations: An interesting twist is to add 6 slices of crisp bacon, leave out the pickle relish and instead of the mayonnaise and mustard dressing use a good ranch dressing(about a cup). Makes a completely different but very good potato salad.

Powerful Read

I got home Friday to find that my copy of Joe Bageant's book "Deer Hunting with Jesus" had finally shown up. I finished all but the last chapter over the weekend. I can't recommend it highly enough. Even though I grew up in the South and my relatives and my family are the ones Joe is talking about (America's working class/rednecks) it was a powerful and eye opening book. Joe lays out clearly what drives this huge part of American society, why they vote like they do and why they think like they do and why, when they vote, they invariably seem to vote against their own self interests. Guns, fundamentalist religion, living paycheck to paycheck, it is all there in spades.

Speaking of America's working class I am back in Augusta this week for another round with the corporate types. It was a nice relief last week actually working with the folks in the warehouse and distribution center. No corporate politics just getting the work done. This place reeks with all the intrigue and backstabbing that go along with a corporate office. Not very pleasant. Fortunately, it is a short week.

Feel Sorry For Me

It's no wonder I am under constant psychic attack around here. It's like having to shop at Wally world every day. There is a constant aura of stupid and hate in the air. It's a wonder I can maintain my sanity. Here is one of my fellow Georgians speaking from the heart.

Rep. Lynn Westmoreland (R-GA)

I think the people that elect us deserve to know what our plan is. The Republican side has come out with a plan. They say, "Look, we're gonna take advantage of our natural resources. We're gonna take advantage of the things that we were God-given in this land. We're gonna take advantage of our oil reserves, of our natural gas, of our abundance of coal." We're gonna take advantage of those things, and we're gonna use the technology that we've been so good about coming up with. We're gonna take and convert this shale to oil, which Hitler did in the late '20s. In the late '20s. And we don't think that we can do that today?

Lasting Legacy

Bo Diddley didn't get a whole lot of money for gifting rock and roll with his famous 5/4 signature beat and truth be known he didn't invent it. Blues players like Son House were using the beat at the turn of the century and they got it from their ancestors. Regardless, it is the Bo Diddley beat and if you want to experience a nice collection of covers go over to Brilliant at Breakfast where Jill has gifted us with a nice set of music that owes Bo big time.

Update: Frederick at MCCS1997 has a completely different and all Bo Diddley set for your viewing pleasure. All Bo and some great stuff.

Magnolia and Gardenia

The first official weekend of summer. All the chores are done except for going to madam's office and trying to install the 2008 upgrade to Quickbooks on her office computer(arrrgh!). All the gardening done and I even managed to get he white paint off the right end of my front fender from where I nicked the garage door coming in on Friday afternoon. No damage and a little elbow grease took care of the paint scraped off the door frame. I don't know if I mentioned the hail storm in Augusta the other week which left some nice little dimples all over my pristine car which is next thing to do. State Farm has a catastrophe unit set up in Augusta near the client's office and all I need to do is make an appointment. Lots of people evidently had some damage.
Anyhow, it is definitely summer here in the Northern Atlanta burbs. Took a few photos in the garden after the rain this morning when the sun reappeared. Gardenias and magnolia breaking out in full bloom and the first day lily as well. When the gardenia are in full bloom you can almost get high on the overwhelming perfume. Mix the exotic smell of the gardenia with the oh so faint essence of citrus from the magnolia and it is quite heady.
Off to Augusta again tomorrow morning for another exciting immersion in the fabulously wacky world of home appliance parts logistics. I cannot, however, complain about the money.

Stranger and Stranger

I won't comment on this this quote other than to say you really can get flabbergasted at Georgia GOP politics.

Georgia Republican Party chairwoman Sue Everhart said Saturday that the party's presumed presidential nominee has a lot in common with Jesus Christ.

"John McCain is kind of like Jesus Christ on the cross," Everhart said as she began the second day of the state GOP convention. "He never denounced God, either."

Bad for GOP

No surprise for Hillary and West Virginia...still doesn't change the math. The biggest news of the night was in the first congressional district in Mississippi. A Democrat beat a Republican in a district and that has always gone to the GOP. This does not bode well for the GOP in November. Note also that the NRCC spent 1.3 million here to no avail.

93% of Precincts Reporting

Travis W. Childers (D): 53% (54029)
Greg Davis (R): 47% (47361)

The Art of Southern Biscuits

A nice treat in today's Atlanta Journal-Constitution Food Section. One of the best Southern chef's around, Scott Peacock, gives us a lesson in how to make a good Southern buttermilk biscuit. It is an excellent lesson and he doesn't miss any of the critical points. Scott worked and studied along side the late Edna Lewis a masterful Southern cook and they even wrote a great Southern cookbook together The Art of Southern Cooking. I have only had the opportunity to meet Scott once when he was using the open hearth and beehive oven here in Roswell at Bulloch Hall to prepare the feast for Edna's 80th birthday party but he knows his stuff (James Beard award etc,) and is the chef at Watershed here in Atlanta. If you want to learn how to make a great biscuit...here is the lesson.

photo credit: LOUIE FAVORITE/AJC Staff

Update: Whoops! Almost forgot the hard link to the actual recipe. The link above will get you there as well but is actually a link to the article.

Country Captain, A Southern Treat

Since last week's Wednesday recipe from Japan went over like a you know what in church, I thought I might stay a little closer to home this week. With it's port of Savannah bringing in a variety of spices, a lot of the early low country dishes included spices like curry, paprika and the like. Country Captain is one of those Georgia and Southern recipes. It is a spicy chicken stew that is typically served over rice(another commodity of the area around Savannah). You'll find Country Captain recipes made with shrimp or chicken but both are in a sauce that's deeply flavored with onions, garlic, bell peppers, and thyme, always a little spicy from curry powder, paprika, and cayenne but also a little sweet from raisins and mango. It also almost always has tomatoes as well that brighten up the flavor.
Like many curries, it is served over rice, usually with a variety of garnishes that allow the diners to customize the dish to their liking. The collection of garnish will include some or all of the following: crumbled crisp bacon, thinly sliced scallions, toasted sliced almonds, chopped peanuts, shredded toasted coconut, crumbled hard cooked egg, finely chopped green pepper, tart apple, chopped banana, mandarin orange, sugared raisins, and of course chutney.

COUNTRY CAPTAIN CHICKEN (or SHRIMP)
SERVES 4

Traditionally, this dish is served with white rice you can, of course, use brown rice. You can pick and choose from the garnishes mentioned above or even come up with your own. This dish will scale easily and is a good choice for a crowd as playing in the garnish is always fun. If you are making the chicken version you can even make it a day or two ahead and just reheat it. If you are doing the shrimp version make everything ahead except adding the shrimp. Reheat and add the shrimp about ten minutes before you want to serve.

1 chicken, about 3 pounds, cut into 8 serving pieces, or 3 pounds bone-in chicken thighs, rinsed, dried, and trimmed
1 teaspoon salt, plus extra to season chicken
Ground black pepper, to taste
2 teaspoons vegetable, corn, or canola oil
2 medium onions, chopped (about 2 1/2 cups)
1 medium red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and chopped (about 1 cup)
1 stalk celery, finely chopped (about 1/2 cup)
3 medium garlic cloves, finely chopped (about 1 tablespoon)
1 tablespoon sweet paprika
1 tablespoon curry powder
1/8 teaspoon cayenne(you can add a bit more if you like spice but be careful as it will increase as it cooks)
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup homemade chicken stock or packaged low-sodium chicken broth
1 can (14 1/2 ounces) diced tomatoes or 2 cups fresh tomtoes peeled, seeded and chopped
1 teaspoon dried thyme
2 bay leaves
1/2 cup raisins
1 medium mango, peeled and pitted, flesh chopped (about 1 generous cup)(you can use frozen mango here as well)
6 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Sprinkle chicken liberally all over with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a large, heavy-bottomed Dutch oven or soup kettle over medium-high heat. Place chicken pieces in the pot skin side down (do not crowd - brown in two batches, if necessary) and cook without moving them until the skin is crisp and golden brown, about 5 minutes. Turn the chicken pieces and cook, again without moving, until the second side is golden brown, about 5 minutes longer. Transfer the chicken to a large plate and, if necessary, repeat with the remaining chicken, adjusting heat if the pot becomes too hot. When the chicken is cool enough to handle, remove and discard the skin. Pour or spoon all but 1 tablespoon of fat from the pot.

Return the pot to the burner, adjust the heat to medium, add the onions, bell pepper, and celery and cook, stirring frequently, until the vegetables soften, about 5 minutes. Add garlic, paprika, curry, cayenne, and 1 teaspoon of salt and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the flour and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture sticks to the bottom of the pot, about 1 minute. Add the chicken stock, increase heat to high, and, using a wooden spoon, scrape the bottom of the pot until the film of browned flour and spices dissolves into and thickens the liquid, about 2 minutes. If anyone asks, you are making a roux. Add tomatoes, thyme, bay leaves, and raisins, stir to mix, and bring to a boil.

Add the cooked chicken with accumulated juices, push the chicken down into the sauce, return to a boil, reduce the heat to very low, cover the pot, and simmer for 15 minutes.

Add the mango, re-cover, and continue to simmer until the chicken is very tender and pulling away from the bone, about 20 minutes longer.

Discard the bay leaves, correct the seasoning with additional salt and pepper, if necessary, add the parsley, and stir to mix. Serve with white rice and garnishes.

To make this dish with shrimp you obviously skip the frying chicken part. Peel and de-vein 2 pounds of medium shrimp reserving the shells and tails. Keep the peeled shrimp cold while you simmer the shells and tails in about 2 cups of water for about 15 minutes with a pinch or two of salt. Strain and reserve this shrimp broth you will substitute for the chicken broth. Otherwise follow the recipe but don't add the shrimp until the last 10 minutes or they will overcook.

If you are a pure vegan you might try using firm tofu in this dish and follow the shrimp instructions and using water or vegetable broth to make the roux.

Enjoy!