Southern Comfort Food

On Thursday last week I received an invitation to lunch at Southern Kitchen in Tacoma, WA.  I had received this invitation on several previous occasions, but had never been able to make it.  This time I was determined, despite a busy schedule and a prediction of snow.  I drove down through a few snow flurries.  Thank goodness the snow wasn't sticking to the ground, because I had to make it up a huge incline on 6th Street in Tacoma.  I even lucked out on the parking!  How about that?  I walked into a small restaurant that was quite busy even at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday, mostly filled with people dining on lunch after church.  

 Photo courtesy Flavortown USA

Featured on Food Network's Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives last year, Southern Kitchen is on the corner of 6th and Division.  It is a tiny little unassuming place, that seats around 75 people.  They do down home Southern cooking like nobody else in this area.  I sat at the table and ordered their famous Strawberry Lemonade while we waited for the rest of the gang to show up.  There were more folk than we thought would come, so we moved to a table for six when they did.  We pored over the extensive menu trying to decide what to order.  They serve breakfast all day.  They also serve sandwiches and entrees, or you can make a meal of four of their sides.  Each order comes with a corn cake.  It was recommended I order the catfish.  At $11.95, it comes with 3 sides and a hush-puppy.  For my sides I ordered the black-eyed peas, okra and macaroni-and-cheese. 


We sat and waited for our food as we helped ourselves to an appetizer of jalapeno hush-puppies.  We learned from one of the people at our table all about Southern food.  This person is originally from Georgia.  I had no idea why all the drinks we ordered came in large Mason Jars, for example.  I learned that is how they are served down South because there was no plausible reason to throw away a perfectly good Mason Jar instead of buying a set of glasses to serve drinks.  I also learned how hush-puppies got their name.  Little spoonfuls of corn meal batter would be fried and thrown to the family dog to stop their barking, hence the word "hush puppy".  

Photo courtesy Flavortown USA

When the food came, everything was hot off the stove.  I went for the mac-n-cheese, my favorite comfort food.  It was made just the way I like it, with enough cheese to hold the macaroni together that it could be baked in a casserole and then cut into squares.  It was also very nicely browned on top.  The black-eyed peas came with large chunks of onion that were cooked just right, with a little bite in them.  The okra was lightly breaded and fried.  The catfish was dipped in batter and deep fried, which made it very nice and crunchy on top and soft in the middle.  Everything was so good and so delicious, I had to close my eyes and savor the flavor.  That, my friends, is what true comfort food does to you.  It warms your body, soothes your soul and makes you feel good all over.

I know that I will definitely be back, because there are so many items on the menu I want to try.  It may be a bit of a drive for me, but it is absolutely worth it.  If you are from the area and decide to go, I would recommend that you go either early or late to beat the rush hour.

SOUTHERN KITCHEN
1716 6th Ave
Tacoma, WA 98405


(253) 627-4282



Mon-Fri 8 a.m. - 8 p.m.
Sat 8 a.m. - 9 p.m.
Sun 8 a.m. - 7 p.m.

Martha Does It Again

Every time I need inspiration or a good idea for food, or if I am looking for a specific recipe I turn to Martha Stewart.  Every time she comes through.

The last time I baked for work, one of my colleagues Megan asked me if I had ever tried baking cupcakes with pumpkin.  I had never made pumpkin cupcakes before, but that sounded like a great idea.  Then another colleague Drew chimed in asking if I had made eggnog cupcakes.  That was another great idea which I decided to put away in my mental filing cabinet for future use.  But back to the pumpkin cupcake idea.  Back to Martha Stewart.  Bingo!

As always, I made two batches.  Although perfectly edible, the first batch seemed like something wasn't right.  For one thing the batter appeared curdled.  I hate when that happens.  It gives me the feeling like the cakes won't bake up right.  Also, I thought the batter looked like it would make more than just 18 cupcakes as the recipe suggested.  I was wrong. That's the advantage of making two batches, you can make sure that the second batch takes care of everything that previously went wrong.  

The end result were perfectly deliciously moist cupcakes with a wonderfully spicy flavor that tasted SO good with cream cheese frosting.  I will definitely be making a couple of batches for Thanksgiving dinner.  So here's the recipe with the modifications I made to the process. 


PUMPKIN CUPCAKES WITH CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp coarse salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground allspice
1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
4 large eggs
1 can (15 oz) pumpkin puree (NOT pumpkin pie filling)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cupcake pans with paper liners; set aside.

In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and allspice; set aside.

In a large bowl, thoroughly whisk together brown sugar, granulated sugar and butter until mixture appears light and fluffy.

Add eggs one at a time, whisking well after each addition.

Add flour mixture and pumpkin puree alternately, in 5 batches beginning and ending with flour.  Scrape the sides and bottom of the mixing bowl to ensure that ingredients are well incorporated. 

Using an ice cream scoop, fill each of the cupcake cavities with batter, about 3/4 full.  

Bake 20-25 minutes, rotating pans 10 minutes into the baking process.  Cupcakes are done when the tops spring back when touched and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  

Cool cupcakes in pan about 20 minutes, then on a wire rack for 2 hours before frosting.


CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

8 oz (2 sticks) unsalted butter
12 oz cream cheese
1 lb (4 cups) sifted confectioners' sugar
3/4 tsp pure vanilla extract

Beat butter and cream cheese with a mixer on medium-high speed until fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Reduce speed to low. Add sugar, 1 cup at a time, and then vanilla; mix until smooth. Frosting can be refrigerated for up to 3 days; before using, bring to room temperature, and beat until smooth.