Southern Spoonbread

March 17, 2025 by Carine Clary Leave a Comment

What’s Southern Spoonbread? It’s the lighter eggier version of the more solid and reliable cornbread. It’s almost a vegetable, but one your kids will like as much as I did on a visit to Kentucky where I first tasted it.

It’s quick and easy so let’s get started.

For the Prep

You will start by heating the oven and putting a ten-inch greased cast iron skillet inside. Cooking the spoonbread in a cast iron skillet will give you a nice crust on the bottom, but a small two-quart souffle dish will work fine. If you use a souffle dish you won’t need to preheat it and the finished dish will be more delicate than the cast iron version. Your choice.

Stir the Pot

Put two cups of whole milk in any kind of pot and bring it up to a high simmer just short of boiling. Now gradually add the cornmeal and stir until it thickens (this happens fast) and remove from the heat. It will need a couple of minutes to soften and absorb the milk. Now separate the eggs. Once the cornmeal and milk mixture has cooled a little stir in the baking powder, salt, melted butter and beaten egg yolks. And this is the point where you will add in a little honey or cane syrup for a sweeter bite, or chives for savory. Again, your choice.

Now set the pot aside and beat the egg whites to soft peaks. You want one of those little peaks where the egg white flops over in an S curve. That’s when you can fold them in, pour into the skillet, and put in the oven.

Watch it!

It usually takes thirty minutes but when it’s puffed and tan on top it’s done. And you can play with the timing. If you prefer a softer spoonbread, take it out of the heat a few minutes early. And voila! your spoonbread is done and ready to enjoy with a little more butter or even a cruet of beurre noisette (aka, brown butter).

Southern Spoonbread

Author: Carine Clary

Cuisine: Southern

Ingredients

2 cups whole milk
½ cup medium cornmeal (not self rising)
½ tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
2 tablespoons melted butter
2 large egg yolks, beaten
2 large egg whites
2 tablespoons melted fat (butter, lard, or duck fat)
iron skillet 10"

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees & place skillet inside to heat.
Put milk into a medium saucepan, heat to a near boil, & add the cornmeal. Stir until thickened, then take off the heat.
Add the salt, baking powder & butter.
Separate the eggs.
Whisk yolks and add to cornmeal mixture once cooled.
Beat egg whites to soft peaks and fold into cornmeal mixture.
Pour into greased skillet and bake for 30 minutes.

Notes

Optional add ins for a sweeter spoonbread: one tablespoon honey or cane syrup stirred in before incorporating the beaten egg whites.
For a savory addition: three to four tablespoons of chopped shallots or chives.

Carrot Pumpkin Cake

December 2, 2024 by Carine Clary Leave a Comment

I love one-layer cakes and a spicy Carrot Pumpkin Cake….what could go wrong? Ok, you could burn it or drop it upside down on a dirty kitchen floor (and really, is there any other kind of kitchen floor?) but otherwise, this cake is a quick to make winner. And it does not need to be round. You can bake it in your standard square brownie pan, adjusting the baking time for the size of the pan.

The Prep

To start you want to beat the eggs, sugars, and oil until very light. This will ensure a lighter texture. The pumpkin puree and buttermilk need to be mixed well and added alternately with the sifted flour and spices. As for the spices you can use what I’ve suggested or add some extras. I once put in an extra teaspoon of cardamom and it was great.

Raisins, Nuts, & Cointreau

The recipe calls for sultana raisins which are fat and juicy and are my favorites but you could substitute small black raisins or even chopped dates in equal amounts. Soaking the raisins before folding them into the cake makes them even juicier and if you pass on the bourbon soak, try some orange juice or water with a little vanilla in it, or some orange liqueur like Cointreau or Grand Marnier. Be creative!

When it comes to the walnuts you may put some in the batter but I prefer a rough chop and then an application to the sides. Another option would be to ice only the top of the cake and then cover that completely with the nuts. And although it doesn’t call for it in the recipe I splashed out and bought some gold lustre powder and glitter bombed the nuts before adding them to the cake. Very festive.

The Icing

I can’t close this without mentioning my special love for this icing. It’s buttercream and cream cheese – not too sweet – and with the vanilla and orange flavoring it’s very good. I ate fingerfuls of the leftovers so there’s that for proof.

And other pumpkin-themed eats for fall

Since this year’s Halloween is likely to be a low-key affair with little to no gatherings or trick or treaters try gathering the family to taste this delicious cake. And if you’re looking for something else pumpkin try my Pumpkin Spice Bread.

Carrot Pumpkin Cake

Author: Carine Clary

Cuisine: Southern

Ingredients

For the Cake:
2 large eggs, at room temperature
¾ cup granulated sugar
¼ cup light brown sugar, packed
½ cup toasted walnut oil (or other neutral oil)
½ cup pumpkin puree*
¼ cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tsps. ground cinnamon
2 tsps. pumpkin pie spice
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
1½ cups grated carrots (on a box or hand grater, not food processor)
½ cup white sultana raisins, soaked in bourbon
For the Icing:
6 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
¼ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon orange liqueur (or orange juice)
1¼ cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
½ cup roughly chopped walnuts

Instructions

For the cake:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F).
Grease a 9" springform pan & line with parchment; set aside.
In a large bowl combine the eggs, granulated sugar, brown sugar, oil and vanilla, beat well to combine, about 4 minutes. Mixture should be light.
Whisk together the pumpkin and buttermilk.
Sift together the flour, spices, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and stir into the wet ingredients in three parts alternating with the pumpkin buttermilk mixture; stir until just combined. Batter will be thick. Add in the carrots and raisins; gently fold together until incorporated.
Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with a spatula. Bake cake for 45-50 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and set, and a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool for 20 minutes in the pan, then transfer it to a wire rack to cool.
For the icing:
Beat the cream cheese, butter, and vanilla on medium-high speed until completely smooth. Reduce the speed to low and gradually add the sifted confectioners' sugar. Once all of the sugar has been added beat on high-speed for 1-2 minutes.
Once the cake has completely cooled, spread the frosting over the cake, decorate with nuts, then slice and serve. Store this cake in the fridge, covered, for up to 4 days.

Notes

*Some pumpkin purees are watery some are not. If you open the can and see that it is strain for 20 minutes or so over a bowl.

Slugburger

June 19, 2022 by Carine Clary 10 Comments

Slugburger! Ok, the first thing to establish is the meaning of ‘slug.’ No relation to slimy members of the phylum Mollusca. This delicious burger was ginned up during the Great Depression when it sold for a slug, aka, a nickel. Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way let’s get on with the prep of this little-known treat.

The Origin of the Slugburger

The existence of the Slugburger was brought to my attention by a FaceBook friend who wishes to remain anonymous, so we’ll just call him “Art J” for short. Art J hails from the birthplace of slugdom. That’s Corinth. Not the one in Greece, the one in Mississippi. And people in Corinth love them some slugburgers and after testing the living daylights outta this recipe I understand their devotion to the humble slug.

If you find yourself in Corinth slugburgers are served up at The Slugburger Cafe and White Trolley Cafe along with other venues. There is even an upcoming festival over July 4th weekend.

Themes & Variations

To use a musical expression there are themes and variations. The theme is meat stretched with filler. The variations are the kinds of meat – hamburger or pork; and the filler – bread crumbs or cornmeal, all fried up and served on a bun. I even made my own variation by serving it bunless with a side of hominy cooked with some chopped onion & red bell pepper.

And every single version tasted good so let’s get started:

What you need:

ground chuck or pork
salt, pepper & onion powder
oil for frying (any kind)
buns, pickles, & mustard

The Prep

Get your ingredients together and mix gently with wet hands, roll into balls, then press out into patties as you see below:

Don’t overwork the meat and please note the irregular shapes of the patties. Perfectly round is not where it’s at with the slugburger. Those little craggy edges fry up as crispy as a potato chip so you don’t want to miss that extra flavor. If you do decide to accessorize with actual chips go for the Zapp’s which I’m linking here for totally free since they are the best chips on the planet, especially the Creole Onion & Pickle flavors. Just sayin’….

I was a little short on breadcrumbs so it only made seven burgers but a full cup would yield eight.

Pork v. Chuck

Ok, on this one I come out firmly for pork. They are both delicious but the pork version is utterly delicious so it wins the Carrie prize.

Crumbs v. Cornmeal

This one’s a wash. I think most people will prefer the crumbs but the cornmeal filler was surprisingly good. The graininess rocked a sort of falafel-like vibe. Reminded me of Dror, the little Israeli falafel cart guy that dished out deliciousness down in Greenwich Village back in the day. Try both or try one when you don’t have the other ingredient on hand.

Other uses

You can see the previously mentioned Slugburger with Hominy below. And last night I used the final defrosted slugburger fried up, broken into pieces and tossed into spaghetti sauce. Tasted great too!

Things you can eat with a Slugburger

Besides Zapp’s chips and/or hominy, salads make a great side and Baton Rouge’s own Sensation Salad is good.

Sensation Salad

or a Spinach salad with blue cheese:

Spinach Salad with Blue Cheese and Pear

So that’s a wrap folks! If you miss the festival you can whip this up at home and enjoy.

4.0 from 4 reviews

Slugburger

Author: Carine Clary

Cuisine: Southern

Ingredients

1 cup fresh breadcrumbs (or cornmeal)
1 lb. ground pork or hamburger
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon onion (or garlic) powder
½ teaspoon celery salt (optional but good)
vegetable oil for frying
hamburger buns, pickles & mustard

Instructions

Lightly toast about 6 or 7 slices of white bread, crumble and whiz for a second in a food processor. If you are using the cornmeal as a filler add a couple of tablespoons of warm water to soften it up. Just enough to make a paste. You don't want it to be watery.
Wet your hands and work the filler and flavorings into the meat, roll into balls and flatten. Don't overwork the meat. It should just be loosely rolled together.
Fry in about half an inch of oil, about 2 minutes on each side. Remove & drain.
Serve on a toasted bun with mustard and pickles.

Fruit Fool

June 12, 2022 by Carine Clary 2 Comments

Fruit Fools are summer fruits in season marinated in a little sugar and flavorings of your choice then layered alternately with cookies with whipped cream. That’s it! And if you have given a little extra kick to the marinade via some lemon zest and liqueur you’ll end up serving something very tasty but very easy.

So let’s get started:

What you’ll need:

Fruit of your choice (here, blueberries & peaches)
Heavy whipping cream
Lemon juice, zest & St. Germaine liqueur (optional but good)
Thick butter cookies like Walker’s Shortbread or Pepperidge Farm Chessme n

First things first:

Marinate the fruit or fruits that you’re using, then put them in the fridge to marinate while you whip the cream. Now whip the cream with sugar and vanilla to soft peaks.

Assembly:

Can be served individually as pictured or in a large bowl.
Crumble the cookies into largeish pieces and put them on the bottom.
Then add whipped cream, then fruits with their juices, then more cream, then topping off with the remaining fruit.
Grate a little nutmeg and lemon zest on top and add a mint sprig if you’ve got one and you’re done.

5.0 from 1 reviews

Blueberry Fool

Author: Carine Clary

Cuisine: Southern

Ingredients

For the Fruit compote:
1 cup fresh blueberries
1 cup peaches, peeled & sliced
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tablespoons white sugar
1 tablespoon St. Germaine liqueur, optional
For the whipped cream:
1 cup chilled heavy cream
3 tablespoons powdered sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Remainder:
1 cup crushed shortbread cookies (or to taste)
a dusting of nutmeg & lemon zest for top

Instructions

For the fruit:
Place blueberries & peaches in a bowl. Add lemon zest, lemon juice, and sugar. Stir until sugar is mixed with fruit and juices begin to form. Cover and refrigerate until chilled, about 1 hour.
For the whipped cream:
Place heavy cream in a cold bowl. Add sugar and vanilla extract. Beat until mixture has soft peaks for 5 to 8 minutes.
Assemply:
Crumble cookies roughly.
Place some cookie crumbs at the bottom of each serving dish. Spoon in some of the fruit and a layer of whipped cream. Repeat layers, ending with some nutmeg and lemon zest.