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Monday, November 26, 2007
Where’s the Best Cornbread?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I’m mighty partial to the spoonbread-style cornbread (made from white cornmeal) at Watershed: Part cream, part corn, it almost — hence the name — needs a spoon for eating.
A new cookbook, “The Cornbread Gospels” by Crescent Dragonwagon (Workman Publishing, $14.95) has me waxing on about my favorite spots (other than home) for the bread southerners claim as religion. In truth, cornbread exists in all regions of the United States and is perhaps more American than that proverbial apple pie. (I guess “as American as cornbread” didn’t possess such an alliterate ring.)
Muffins and jonnycakes in the North; tortillas and flatbreads in the Southwest; hoe cakes and hushpuppies in the Midwest; griddle cakes in the West — corn of all sorts has been sustenance to Americans since Squanto taught the pilgrims how to plant it in 1620.
But Southerners have a special strain of the stuff, and making it, eating it and talking about it provides us a great sense of pride. Dragonwagon’s book includes over 200 recipes and covers all the regions of the USA, but even she says “with certainty” that “no part of America cares more about cornbread than the South.”
There are lots of spots — from meat-n-threes to Watershed, who serve great cornbread. Who’s the best?
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Turkey lurks. Should you eat it?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
As I was driving to work this morning, one of the radio chatters rambled on about the holiday shopping season being in full gear, now that the Thanksgiving leftovers were all eaten.
There’s a container of turkey noodle soup waiting for my lunch today and tomorrow. After days of turkey sandwiches and Thanksgiving rehashes, we finally finished the last of the sliced turkey on Sunday. My sister’s still toting enough poundcake to last another week. Maybe we should have eaten more. But it raises the question of when you do need to throw food out. Is it a needless waste to pitch any leftover turkey today? Or the prudent thing to do?
Federal food safety advice says to toss poultry leftovers after three to four days. If the turkey sat out for more than two hours at room temperature, you’re supposed to not even bother with keeping it for leftovers.
So — that makes today the last safe day to eat turkey that was properly handled, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture guidelines. Same for the gravy. Bacon, on the other hand, can keep for a week after cooking in the refrigerator, which should make a lot of side dishes OK.
Do you still have Thanksgiving leftovers around the house? What’s your favorite way to get rid of them? I tried a turkey hash from Jean Anderson’s new cookbook, “A Love Affair With Southern Cooking,” that was delicious. Simple, but satisfying, and good enough to have the kids asking for seconds.
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