Summer is finally here! Taking my child to camp in Eastern NC recently brought back memories of the picnics our family enjoyed on many car trips to the coast. Mom always had the cooler at hand for impromptu excursions, and she came up with easy, quick recipes that she whipped up like magic. Our family car was always (and still is) loaded up ready for a picnic at a moment’s notice.
On road trips, we would bypass the many restaurants and rest stops. Instead, we opted for stops at tiny roadside churches — where there always was a picnic table in the shade, welcoming folk and a playground to get the wiggles out — or the beautiful state parks along the way. And boy…Mom was ready to whip up a farm-to-fork snack right there in the parking lot when we happened upon a road-side stand.
We all have fond memories of picnics and tailgating with family, friends or a romantic interest. So we thought we’d share some yummy, fast recipes that incorporate the bounty of summer and travel well to your ultimate picnic spot. Get out there and make your own memories!
Heirloom Tomato Appetizer
Slice tomatoes and place them on a serving plate. Sprinkle tomatoes with salt and pepper. Drizzle Herb Vinaigrette over tomatoes, and then sprinkle with goat cheese. Makes 1 portion.
Recipe Tips:
Herb Vinaigrette (make at home and bring in a squeeze bottle)
Combine all ingredients except oil and herbs in a saucepan, and heat while whisking until sugar is dissolved and Dijon is incorporated. Pour mixture into a blender and slowly add oil until well combined. Stir in herbs. Makes 1 quart.
Another great picnic recipe is our Cucumber-Tomato Salad “Liquor House Salad” (see it on our “Fresh, cold hothouse tomatoes” blog post)
Chocolate Brownies
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a mixing bowl, blend flour, baking powder and salt. In a double boiler, melt the chocolate chips while stirring. In a mixing bowl, combine brown sugar, eggs and vanilla. Mixture should turn light brown in color when done (about 5 minutes on medium speed). Add melted chocolate and melted butter to egg mixture and then add that mixture to the flour mixture, blending well with a spatula. Add walnuts, stirring to incorporate. Pour mixture into a greased pan. Bake in 350 degree oven for about 20 minutes. Makes 6 large brownies.
Tips for a fun and easy picnic:
There you have it: A few of our recipes and tips for delightful and yummy summer picnics. Load up your car with family and friends (or a romantic rendezvous) and take off to explore the back roads and popular destinations near you. With a few simple recipes and a little forethought, you can avoid the fast food trap and enjoy a tasty, farm-to-fork meal while en route.
Contributing Writer: Virginia Phelps
These recipes are available on our Suddenly This Summer menu at Lucky’s through August 4. See the menu.
As winter’s grasp eases and the temperatures begin to rise, the availability of locally sourced food increases, expanding menus and creativity in the kitchen. We know this is an incredibly exciting time of the year for us—as it is for other chefs and avid home cooks.
For months now, farmers markets and “local availability lists” have suffered from the annual winter slump. Offerings have primarily consisted of turnips, mustard greens and kale greens, alongside year-round collards, sweet potatoes and peanuts. While hearty root vegetables and greens are a staple of Southern cuisine, our locally sourced, seasonally rotating menu at Lucky’s gets a boost when spring fruits and vegetables begin to appear. Put it this way: Creating menus with winter produce is fun, kind of like like driving a Model T … but spring produce season is a blast, more like driving a Ferrari!
A few weeks ago, as we perused the rows of radishes and asparagus at the Inter-Faith Food Shuttle Teaching Farm in Cary, we started to get excited about the possibilities to come. We picked a crisp, green spear right out of the earth, dusted it off on a pant leg and eagerly bit into the freshest produce possible. Our creativity was recharged instantly, and ideas for new menu items flashed through our minds.
We got even more excited when Jesse Crouch and his brother Dustin (both incubator farmers at the IFFS farm and owners of NC Regrown Farm) told us they had just planted rows of okra alongside their colorful radishes. Other IFFS farmers are planting broccoli, cabbages, herbs, heirloom tomatoes, red and golden beets and sugar snap peas to be ready in a few weeks. And on the horizon, we can expect to see more local fruits taking center stage, from watermelons and cantaloupes to peaches, plums and berries. Oh, the possibilities!
All of these colorful and delicious selections definitely will make it onto our menu, helping us maintain our 10% NC Promise: All Quaintance-Weaver restaurants promise to source, at minimum, 10% of their food purchases from local farms and farmers. This program is designed to give back to the community that allows our places to thrive.
We just can’t wait for that okra – and those plums – to be ready!
Enjoy the same fresh, local vegetables that we offer by picking some up from our Veggie Cart on your way out! Our carts offer everything from greens, to potatoes, to honey! They’re always parked either on our front sidewalk or in our entry way, and operate by an honor system for payment. Bon appetit!
For more about our seasonal recipes, see our current menu at Lucky 32 Southern Kitchen and our Blog Recipe Index:http://lucky32southernkitchen.com/recipes/
Three years ago, we decided to further our proud commitment to local North Carolina products by dedicating our draft beer program to beers brewed in our great state. Our guests have given this program an unqualified thumbs up. So, in honor of North Carolina Beer Month, we want to share some of our favorite homegrown ales and lagers, all of which are featured at various times in our restaurant.
North Carolina’s Original Craft Breweries
Our three mainstay beers—Red Oak Amber Lager, Bad Penny Brown Ale and Carolina Pale Ale—represent some of the original (and larger) craft breweries in North Carolina. Red Oak, started in Greensboro, prides itself on a commitment to German Beer Purity law in all of their brews. Big Boss, along with making great craft beer, is at the forefront of creative packaging and label designs; the brewery’s beer names and logos are inspired by WWII bomber art. Our other year-round beer, the popular Carolina Pale Ale from Carolina Brewing Company in Holly Springs, is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year.
Newer Breweries in Asheville, the Triangle and Johnston County
The past three years have seen incredible new growth in the state’s craft brewing industry. Some of the biggest national names in craft beer—Oskar Blues and Sierra Nevada—have opened locations in the Asheville area, and New Belgium will be opening an Asheville brewery soon. The Triangle has seen several new breweries open recently, too, and the region is giving Asheville a run for the money as the beer capital of the South. We recently visited some of these breweries to get to know a little bit more about the beers we serve.Johnston County, an area known for illegal moonshine, has entered the legal craft beer market. In February 2013, the first legally produced beer was made in Clayton by Deep River Brewing Company. Since then, they have made some of our favorite creative brews, including the marshmallow and sweet potato JoCo White Winter and the amazingly refreshing Double D’s Watermelon Lager.
Just down the road in Smithfield, Double Barley Brewing opened its doors. As with many of these breweries, Double Barley Brewing started with a homebrew: Cheryl Lane bought her husband, Larry, a homebrew kit for his 40th birthday, and after a brief stint in the attic, it became the catalyst for Double Barley. They have created some bold and flavorful beers like Steak Cake Stout, so named because it is sweet enough for a dessert beer and bold enough for a steak; and Thrilla in Vanilla, a porter flavored with hundreds of pounds of hand-split vanilla beans soaked in Jameson.
Aviator Brewing Company in Fuquay-Varina welcomed a new neighbor, Draft Line Brewing Co., just down the street. Their selection includes tropical fruit notes in their Australia and New Zealand-hopped Graf Pale Ale and the refreshing Bavarian-style Hemmings Pilsner.
Apex saw the opening of its first brewery last April, when Brüeprint Brewing Company opened its doors. Founded by a water treatment scientist with a passion for the culinary arts, the name is inspired by this mission statement: “Better than a recipe, a brewing blueprint combines science and great culinary skill to create a Brüeprint.” Their rotating seasonal beers are based on the sports seasons—Zambrüni Lager for hockey, Brüe Diamond IPA for baseball and (our favorite name) Brüe 32 Pale Ale for football. They have also invited bartenders from both of our locations to participate in brewing a beer later this year. We’ll keep you updated!
Women in Brewing
Before the industrialization of beer, brewing was the realm of women. Two breweries that have opened over the past three years show a return of female involvement in the brewing arts. Raleigh Brewing Company became the first brewery in the state with a woman as majority owner. Its most popular beer, Hell Yes Ma’am, takes its name from a story about owner Kristie Nystedt, who wanted a Belgian golden-style beer. She faced pushback from the brewer, but when the brewer finally tasted it, he said, “Hell Yes, Ma’am!” to brewing the beer, which has since become their flagship brew.
In Holly Springs, Bombshell Beer Company became the first brewery to be owned solely by women. The Bombshell story began with Ellen Joyner, whose passion for homebrewing began more than a decade ago. Michelle Miniutti joined Ellen in her brewing endeavors, and the seed was planted for what would become Bombshell Beer Company. Jackie Hudspeth eventually joined the other “Bombshells,” and in 2013 they opened their brewery with a line-up of great beers. A few of our favorites include two great wheat beers, Hey Honey Hefewiezen and Dunkelwiezen; and their rotating Dirty Secret Stout series, which has included a Dry Irish, Coconut and Russian Imperial styles; as well as the year-round flagship Pick-Up Line Porter.
It has been a great three years for craft beer in North Carolina. Our state is at the forefront of beer making in the South, and new breweries are opening every month. Come in and see us at Lucky 32 – we’ll help you celebrate North Carolina Beer Month with some hand-crafted, local libations and a great meal to boot.
Chris Marusa
Bar Manager
Lucky 32 Southern Kitchen Cary
For more about our seasonal recipes, see our current menu at Lucky 32 Southern Kitchen and our Blog Recipe Index:http://lucky32southernkitchen.com/recipes/
With spring just around the corner, plans for celebrating Easter with brunch at the family breakfast table are in the works. Of course, the central focus of any brunch menu is eggs, but don’t just settle for the same ol’ bacon and eggs combo. There are countless other ways to prepare this versatile favorite.
Before you get started, here’s a word to the wise: Make sure to use the freshest eggs possible, and use eggs from free-roaming hens, which lay the most flavorful eggs because they eat a natural diet. The eggs may be a bit more expensive, but like mother used to say, “You get what you pay for!”
Bon Appétit!
MUSHROOM & SWISS QUICHE
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Add mushrooms to a hot sauté pan and sauté until they squeak. Add butter, thyme and garlic to pan and cook for 3-5 minutes. Remove pan from heat and stir in flour until well combined. Mix in cheese.
In a bowl, whisk together eggs, half & half, nutmeg and salt & pepper to taste. Add mushroom mixture to eggs and combine well. Pour into pie shell and bake for 35 minutes or until an inserted knife comes out clean.
Makes: 1 quiche, 6-8 slices
Disclaimer: All our recipes were originally designed for much larger batch size. This recipe has been reduced – but not tested at this scale. Please adjust as to your taste and portion size.
For more recipes visit, our blog recipe index.
Chess Pie is a Southern staple with historical roots in England. Though its basic ingredients – butter, sugar, eggs and flour – can be found in any Southern pantry, the variations on Chess Pie can seem as far-fetched as the folklore surrounding its etymology.
Many folks believe that its name originated from the closely related English lemon curd pie, which often was called cheese pie; “Chess Pie” allegedly derived from Southerners’ tendency to drawl our words. Another version tells of a plantation cook who was asked what she was baking that smelled so great: “Jes’ pie” (just pie) was her answer. Yet another myth states that the pie’s high sugar content allowed it to keep well in a pie chest at room temperature, so “Chest Pie” turned into “Chess Pie.”
Though basic Chess Pie is remarkably easy to prepare by mixing simple ingredients and baking for 30 minutes, you can get fancy by adding innovative flavorings. Popular additions include zesty lemon juice, earthy nutmeg, ginger and cinnamon, tropical flaked coconut, and toasted, chopped pecans. Some believe a splash of buttermilk makes Chess Pie better, while others swear by a tablespoon of vinegar. If you’d like to double the decadence, just stir in some cocoa powder!
Whether you call it cheese pie, chest pie or “jes’ pie,” there are no boundaries to this traditional Southern confection.
Chess pie is one of our favorite dishes, so you can find it on our menu all year round! Stop on by to see us and make sure to save some room for dessert!
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees, then assemble pie as described below.
In a bowl, sift dry ingredients together. In a separate bowl, beat eggs with mixer until light and fluffy. Add eggs to the dry ingredients and mix until incorporated.
Lucky 32 Southern Kitchen Pie Crust
Sift the flour and salt together. Freeze the butter to make it easier to handle. Work the cold butter into the flour mix. Add ice to water to make it cold, making sure you don’t pour any ice into the dough mixture.
Add water slowly and mix until just combined. Portion out enough for one shell and begin to roll it into shape on a floured surface
This recipe makes 3 pie shells. Freeze any unused portions.
Disclaimer: All our recipes were originally designed for much larger batch sizes. This recipe has been reduced – but not tested at this scale. Please adjust as to your taste and portion size.
For more about our seasonal recipes, see our current menu at Lucky 32 Southern Kitchen and our Blog Recipe Index:http://lucky32southernkitchen.com/recipes/
Pork comes in all shapes and sizes. Chops, loins, butts and bellies seem to get the most love in the kitchen, but did you know that the shank can be a dandy piece of meat, too? It’s an excellent, but often-overlooked choice: When properly cooked, it’s full of flavor and super-easy to make.
So what exactly is a pork shank? It’s a cut of meat from the lower leg of a pig. It tends to be leaner because it doesn’t have much fat. As a result, if you cook it the wrong way, you’ll never tear that meat off the bone. Lucky for you, Lucky’s braising recipe will have you going “hog wild” for the pork shank!
Red-Eye Braised Pork Shank (Serves 4*)
Prep veggies, meat, stock and spices. Dredge pork shank in flour. Shake off excess flour, but reserve. Heat oil in a wide, heavy bottomed pot. Sear and brown shank on all sides over medium heat
When fully browned, remove shank from pot and let rest. Add reserved flour to pot and stir well to make brown roux. When brown color is achieved, add onions, celery and carrots to roux.
Add salt, pepper, bay leaves and ham stock, continuing to stir. Stir in coffee. Bring to a boil and then lower heat to simmer. You have now made our modernized version of red-eye gravy.
Return pork shank to a pot and pour the red-eye gravy and vegetables over it. Partially cover the pot while simmering until meat is tender, about 2 hours.
Pick up fresh vegetables like carrots and onions from our veggie cart at Lucky 32 Southern Kitchen in Cary or Greensboro! We offer the same local crops that we serve to you, which means that we have seasonal samplings to spice up your meals!
For more about our seasonal recipes, see our current menu at Lucky 32 Southern Kitchen and our Blog Recipe Index:http://lucky32southernkitchen.com/recipes/
LOCAVORE’S DELIGHT: The Series # 48. Follow us as we explore the bounty of our region’s farms.
While we’re sad to say goodbye to those sweet summer tomatoes, fall is officially here, and there’s a whole new set of crops on the block. The key to this whole local food system is really having locally produced food available year-round, because people need to eat year-round. We’re starting to see that become more of a reality here in the Piedmont, where more farms are growing crops that are available during both the spring and fall.
It’s easy to eat strawberries all year, because conventional farming makes that possible. But when we eat foods that aren’t really in season where we live, we’re really doing ourselves (and our local farmers) a big disservice. There are some excellent crops that can’t tolerate high heat but can tolerate cool nights; radishes, turnips, beets, spinach, Swiss chard, and cabbage are all delicious spring and fall crops.
When I think about one spring and fall crop in particular – cabbage – I don’t picture the perfectly smooth, spherical mounds we’re so accustomed to seeing in the grocery store. Instead, we picture Early Jersey Wakefield cabbage. It’s a pointy-topped variety of cabbage that used to be really popular in this area; but sadly, it has become less available. Farmers used to love growing it because it’s so sweet and wonderful. The reason it’s less common nowadays is that if you get an inordinate amount of rain, the cabbages will split, making them less attractive and less profitable. Because most farmers can’t afford that loss of investment, many gravitate toward plainer varieties. We’re really excited about three farms we work with regularly that do a strong job of growing at least three seasons’ worth of produce. All three – Schicker’s Acre, Guilford College, and Farlow Farm – supply us with some amazing cabbage!
North Carolina coleslaw – whether it’s the creamy slaw from “down east,” or the barbecue slaw from around Lexington – is made from generic cabbage. But if you can get your hands on some pointy-topped cabbage (such as Early Jersey Wakefield or Caraflex) when you visit the farmer’s market this fall, we urge you not to cook it. Shave it and make some coleslaw. Maybe it’s an Asian slaw with some ginger-sesame vinaigrette, or perhaps your favorite barbecue coleslaw; whatever your preference, these less-common types of cabbage will make your coleslaw sublime. (And when you happen upon some heavy, dense, flat-headed cabbage, that stuff is ideal for braising. That’s how we prepare our mustard-braised cabbage.)
Our coleslaw recipe is made with our own buttermilk salad dressing, and it was developed to play a complementary role to the smoky pulled pork sandwich on our lunch menu.
Another great fall dish we love is red cabbage cooked with wine and cranberries, which is delicious. It is wonderful with grilled meats like chicken or pork.
We really want to celebrate fall crops and encourage more people to plant all kinds of edible crops throughout the year. Ultimately, that’s the only way we’ll have a sustainable food system: by extending the seasons, and embracing the produce available to us within each of those seasons.
Cabbage 4-1-1
Green: This is one of the most common and versatile types of cabbage. It has large, tightly packed leaves and can fluctuate in size — from baseball to basketball size!
Red: This tightly packed cabbage actually has more of a purple hue, and it is often smaller than green cabbages.
Bok Choy: This dark green cabbage is more like Swiss Chard than other cabbages. It has crunchy stems and tender leaves, and it is best eaten in stir-frys.
Napa (also referred to as Chinese or celery cabbage): This mild cabbage looks more like a lighter colored romaine lettuce than its other cabbage relatives. It has an oblong shape, and its leaves grow off of thick stalks.
Savoy: Green and loosely packed, with a ruffled, lace-like texture, this is one of the most tender varieties of cabbage
Lucky 32 Slaw
Cut cabbage into quarters, and then slice into ¼ inch thick slices.
In a bowl, toss cabbage, julienned carrots, diced red onion, and salt to combine.
Let mixture sit at room temperature for 20 minutes, then rinse salt off and drain well. Set aside. In a bowl, combine Buttermilk Herb Dressing, Old Bay spice, celery seed, and vinegar. Add buttermilk herb mixture to cabbage mixture and combine well.
Makes 3 quarts
Buttermilk Herb Dressing
Combine all ingredients well.
Makes 6 cups
Cranberry-Braised Cabbage
Combine wine and vinegar and add cranberries. Allow to sit for 10 minutes or until the cranberries soften.
Heat oil in skillet to medium-high, and sauté onions until golden.
Add rough chopped cabbage and sauté until shiny and softened, but not wilted.
Add stock and wine/cranberry mixture and simmer for five minutes.
Makes 3 cups
For more about our seasonal recipes, see our current menu at Lucky 32 Southern Kitchen and our Blog Recipe Index: http://lucky32southernkitchen.com/recipes/
LOCAVORE’S DELIGHT: The Series # 47. Follow us as we explore the bounty of our region’s farms.
Potatoes are so humble. Much like cucumbers, they tend to be overlooked and taken for granted, but we’d be lost without them. They’re such a staple in our diets and have been for decades. One of the reasons potatoes have a reputation for being commonplace is that they are such a commodity in America. There is a huge amount of effort for a meager return for most small farmers. That’s why folks you meet at the farmers market rarely grow potatoes (unless it’s for themselves): They can’t possibly sell heirloom potatoes at a price acceptable to someone used to buying commodity potatoes in the grocery store.
At Lucky 32 Southern Kitchen, when it comes to making potato salad or roasted potatoes, we love showcasing the local bounty. Two farms that have really figured it out and we love doing business with are Farlow Farm (they grow a red-skin variety called Red Pontiac) and Plum Granny Farm (they grow some gorgeous fingerlings – Laratte, Red Thumb and German Butterball). By growing novel varieties that people don’t commonly see in stores, they’re able to set their own prices, making it worth their effort to grow potatoes.
Potatoes are best categorized by their texture: starchy or waxy. If potatoes are meant to be fluffy for French fries or mashed potatoes, you need a starchy potato. Our favorite way to eat starchy potatoes is mashed, with lots of Homeland Creamery buttermilk. Mashed potatoes are just so yummy — fluffy, starchy, tangy and rich. However, if you’re making potato salad, you should use a waxy potato so you get more texture.
One of the best books we’ve read got us excited about potatoes: It’s called Serious Pig, by John Thorne. He devotes an entire chapter to the potato, describing how he drove all around Maine in pursuit of heirloom varieties of potatoes and old potato recipes. Check it out for this and other essays about quintessentially American foods from across the country.
Potatoes make it onto Lucky’s seasonal menu (see recipes below) in several tasty ways, including:
Potato 4-1-1
You like po-tay-toe, I like po-tah-toe
There are more than 4,000 different varieties of potatoes in the world. Here are some of the most common:
For more on potatoes, check out how to pick them: http://www.thekitchn.com/potato-varieties-explained-63819
Recipe: Rustic Potato Salad
Boil whole potatoes until tender, about 15 minutes. Chill in ice water to cool quickly. Quarter the potatoes, place in a mixing bowl and season with salt. Combine remaining ingredients in a separate bowl. Whisk until well combined. Fold mixture into potatoes. Salt to taste.
Makes 8 cups
Smoked Salmon Hash
Heat oil in a sauté pan and add potatoes and onions. Heat through. Add salmon and eggs to pan. Season with salt and pepper. Cook while stirring with a rubber spatula. When eggs are cooked, turn out into a serving bowl and garnish with chives.
Makes 1 serving
Hash Brown Potatoes
Heat butter in a skillet. Add potatoes and spread over the pan. Season with salt & pepper. Allow potatoes to cook for about 5-7 minutes. Turn potatoes over and continue cooking until done.
Duck Fat Potatoes
Melt duck fat in a large skillet. Add onions and cook until softened. Add potatoes and seasoning, stir, spread out into a single layer and cover. Cook about 10 minutes, scrape bottom, turn potatoes over and spread into a single layer again; cover and cook 10 minutes. Scrape bottom, turn potatoes over and spread into a single layer again; cover and cook five minutes. Turn off heat; let rest for 10 minutes covered.
Makes 6 servings
For more about our seasonal recipes, see our current menu at Lucky 32 Southern Kitchen and our Blog Recipe Index: http://lucky32southernkitchen.com/recipes/
LOCAVORE’S DELIGHT: The Series # 46. Follow us as we explore the bounty of our region’s farms.
The three vegetables that we most associate with summer are tomatoes, summer squash and cucumbers. We all have neighbors or grandparents who grow mounds of them each summer, bringing fresh produce to every cookout. Because they are so common, we think sometimes the potential of vegetables like these gets overlooked.
Lately, though, people have been celebrating heirloom tomatoes—and how wonderful they can be, eaten with just a touch of salt! If we paid that sort of attention to every overlooked vegetable that we took for granted, the possibilities would be amazing. One of the other veggies on that list — cucumbers — is one that folks often have “too many” of. But there are countless great things to do with them! Cucumbers come in all shapes, sizes and colors.
Many people will tell you the best way to eat a cucumber is to pickle it. At Luckys, we buy white cucumbers from Mark Schicker, and turn them into pickles. We also have purchased Armenian, English and Japanese cucumbers from Guilford College Farm and Screech Owl Greenhouse.
Traditional fermented pickles are really cucumbers on a higher plane. By immersing cucumbers in a saltwater brine, osmosis extracts moisture from the cucumbers and the moisture that comes out undergoes a malolactic fermentation. The salt inhibits the growth of harmful bacteria, while the lactic acid creates a sourness that makes our mouths pucker ever so delightfully.
Our pickles are flavored with dill, garlic and crushed red pepper flakes, and they are featured on our pickle plate alongside some roasted radishes, crackers and Green Goddess Dressing. We’re also excited to have three different kinds of pickles on our new featured menu — pickled watermelon rind, the above-mentioned dill pickles and zucchini pickles, with a Summer Breeze Gazpacho Jelly by our Summer recipe contest winner Felice Bogus! Be sure to stop by and try some of the many different ways we celebrate this humble vegetable.
Contest Winner! Summer Breeze Gazpacho Jelly (by Felice Bogus), with three kinds of pickles: zucchini, dill, and watermelon, with stoned wheat crackers
One favorite summertime Southern dish is cucumbers with white vinegar, salt and pepper — an answer to a quick pickle. It just has a simplicity and bracing tanginess that reminds us of summer. (And, if avocados are on sale, you can buy some and eat them the same way.) Our cucumber salad is my take on my this simple dish. It’s as easy as can be, and yet it hits every note. On the other end of the spectrum lies our cucumber avocado soup, which is the perfect antidote to a hot summer’s day. It’s deceptively light on the palate, but there’s an extensive array of flavors going on, so you’ll notice different nuances each time you taste it. It’s been our most requested recipe from our seasonal menus over the last five years.
Cucumber 4-1-1
There are three main types of cucumbers:
Some of the most common varieties within each of the three types are:
Cucumber Storage and Preparation Tips
Whenever you want to use cucumbers as an ingredient (like in our Weaver Tuna Salad), you should chop them up, salt them, let them sit for about 30 minutes, and then rinse the salt off. Because cucumbers are so watery, the salt helps draw the excess water out so your dish won’t get waterlogged when you combine the cucumbers with your other ingredients.
Store cucumbers in your refrigerator. If they are kept at room temperature for too long, they’ll start to wilt and lose their wonderful crunch.
For more on pickling, check out our previous post.
Looking for more? We recommend Sandor Ellix Katz’s book Wild Fermentation.
Cucumber Avocado Soup
Place all ingredients in a large bowl and puree with an immersion blender on low speed. When mixture begins to become liquid, increase speed on blender until liquefied.
Makes 1 gallon
Recipe: Weaver Tuna Salad
Another way to use those cucumbers is in our Weaver Tuna Salad. This dish is named for Mike Weaver, a founding partner of Quaintance-Weaver Restaurants and Hotels and an amazing man in his own right. This is one of only a handful of dishes that have been on Lucky 32’s menu since day one.
Mix together cucumbers and salt; allow to sit for ten minutes. Pour off liquid and combine cucumbers with remaining ingredients.
Makes 1 cup
Recipe: Lemon Mustard Vinaigrette Dressing
In a mixing bowl, combine water, mustard, vinegar and lemon juice. Whisk until well blended. Slowly pour oil into the mixing bowl while whisking till well emulsified.
Makes 2 cups
Herbed Cucumber Sauce
This sauce is sort of our take on Tzatziki. It was a very popular fish topping when the menu was arrayed a bit differently. Now we use it to balance the Voodoo Sauce on our Bayou Shrimp Cakes plate, where all of the elements are brought into harmony by the wonderful herbed cucumber sauce.
Peel and slice cucumbers lengthwise. Remove seeds and dice. Toss with salt and allow to sit for 10 minutes. Pour off accumulated liquid. Combine cucumbers with remaining ingredients; mix well.
Makes 3 cups
For more about our seasonal recipes, see our current menu at Lucky 32 Southern Kitchen and our Blog Recipe Index: http://lucky32southernkitchen.com/recipes/
On June 5, Lucky 32 Southern Kitchen celebrated its 25th anniversary, and in the spirit of this joyous occasion, we invited fans to submit their best recipes using fresh summer veggies. The submissions were impressive, inspiring, and mouthwatering. Though it was difficult only picking a few, it ultimately came down to the recipes that most embody our commitment to seasonal and local.
So without further ado, we’re pleased to announce the winner and runners up of our 25th anniversary recipe contest!
I like that the winning recipe, Felice Bogus’s Summer Breeze Gazpacho Jelly, is a new twist on something familiar. It merges two classics — Gazpacho and Tomato Aspic — and re-imagines them. Plus, it boasts lots of fresh, seasonal produce that you can find right now, at your local farmers market. You will see Felice’s recipe on our menu from Aug. 13 – Sept. 30.
We also selected two recipe runners up, because there were so many great recipes to choose from. Runners up are:
For honorable mentions, we were really drawn to the Green Peach Salad, but sadly it’s too late in the season to get our hands on any green peaches. This is definitely a keeper for earlier next summer though! The Hoppin’ John Salad was another dish that piqued my interest, with its dynamic flavors and array of colors. It would be perfect for a summer potluck!
A big thanks to all our amazing contestants — we appreciate your creativity and enthusiasm, and we thank you for helping us celebrate 25 wonderful years at Lucky 32 Southern Kitchen!
For more, see our current menu at Lucky 32 Southern Kitchen and our Blog Recipe Index: http://lucky32southernkitchen.com/recipes/
Winning Recipe: Summer Breeze Gazpacho Jelly, submitted by Felice Bogus
Ingredients
For gazpacho water:
For garnish:
Instructions
Make the gazpacho water. Place all the gazpacho water ingredients, except the gelatin, in a blender, and puree well. Blend in batches, if necessary. Line a colander with a double thickness of cheesecloth and place it over a non-reactive bowl. Pour the puree into the colander and gather up the edges of the cheesecloth. Tie with a string and press the vegetables gently. Refrigerate overnight, placing weights on the puree to help extract the water.
The next day, adjust seasoning as needed. Then, pour 1 c. gazpacho water in a small saucepan and sprinkle the gelatin powder over it. Let rest 5 minutes. Heat the saucepan over medium heat about 1 minute, until the gelatin is melted. Stir the warm mixture into the remaining gazpacho water. Refrigerate until partially set, about the consistency of raw egg whites. Serves 4-6
Recipe Runner Up: Summer Garden Cheddar Bake, submitted by Ashley Brown
Ingredients
Instructions
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Put your butter in a 9×13 inch baking dish in the oven while it preheats until butter is melted. While the butter is melting, mix all remaining ingredients in a large bowl. Pour mixture over melted butter and bake until golden brown and squash is tender, about 40-45 minutes. Allow to cool, cut into squares and serve. Serves 8-10
Recipe Runner Up: Yukon Gold Warm Potato Salad, submitted by Bonnie Olbrich
Ingredients
Instructions
Place potatoes in a large pot, and add water to cover. Bring to a boil over high heat, adding 1 teaspoon salt. Reduce heat to medium, and cook 20-30 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Drain, cool slightly. Pat dry. Transfer to a large bowl. Whisk together olive oil , next three ingredients, 2 tablespoons water and 1 teaspoon salt in a small bowl until blended and smooth. Adjust seasoning. Stir in parsley and green onions. Dice potatoes into small pieces. Toss gently with olive oil mixture. Adjust seasoning. Serves 4-6
