Southern Man

Hot Fried Chicken Salad Recipe

Norman Van Aken gives salad an upgrade

Feb 23, 2012 1:01 pm

It was the biggest break of my career to date when I took on the job as Executive Chef of Louie’s Backyard in Key West in June of 1985. The ownership was divided and that is always tricky. The guy who hired me was at odds with one of the others. Another owner insisted that I keep a salad that had been on the menu with the previous chef. It was called the “Steak Salad” and it was a big seller to be sure. I was not going to have some other chef’s dishes on my menu. So I presented a “Hot Fried Chicken Salad” the next night.

Southern Man

Norman Van Aken's Souse Recipe

The dish that will make you like trotters

Feb 16, 2012 12:46 pm

Photo: Norman Van Aken

Southern Man

Happy Sour: Sean Brock’s PBR Vinegar

Made from his grandma’s 40-year old starter

Feb 6, 2012 3:01 pm

There are a number of things you can do with a can of PBR. Stick it in a chicken; dump it in your pot of chili; heck, you might even drink it. Chef Sean Brock, of Husk and McCrady’s in Charleston, South Carolina, suggests you turn it into liquid gold: homemade vinegar.

Southern Man

Introducing Craig Deihl and Cypress

Add this destination to your Charleston eat-inerary

Jan 25, 2012 10:01 am

For its size, there is probably no city in America with a hotter restaurant scene than Charleston, SC. With a host of chef-driven establishments serving their interpretations of Lowcountry cuisine and farm-to-table cooking, foodies are filling Southwest Airlines flights to Charleston, packing along their meticulous itineraries of OpenTable reservations and loose-fitting “eatin’ pants.”

Southern Man

Country Fried Steak Recipe With Gravy

CFS and cream gravy, just like they do down South

Aug 25, 2011 3:02 pm

Photo: Mark Shaw

Cube steak, a preparation of round or sirloin which regained its 1940s popularity during the recession, is essential for great country fried steak. We're actually on a nickname-basis with this dish, so we'll refer to it as CFS. The "cubing" is done via meat mallet, which tenderizes the meat and provides little square nooks for the buttermilk, egg and flour to sink into and...

Southern Man

Texas Caviar Recipe

Mix it up with a colorful black-eyed pea salad

Aug 19, 2011 3:01 pm

Photo: Mark Shaw

I knew I'd struck culinary gold when none of my fellow Food Republic test kitchen colleagues (AKA our editorial director Richard and photographer Mark) knew what Texas caviar was, or why I was making it. It is the single most effective way to make black-eyed peas, a legume not everyone is crazy about. It's supremely tasty. And it was invented in Texas. I chose it to complement our chicken...

Southern Man

Cajun Blackened Catfish Recipe

A spicy Southern recipe for Cajun catfish filets

Aug 18, 2011 4:28 pm

Photo: Mark Shaw

Now when we say blackened, we don't actually mean black. That would mean your catfish is charred. Rather, when hot fat meets dry spices, they burn slightly, or "blacken," giving you a great, crisp sear and releasing all the oils from the spices right into the fish. Best of all, this technique is so easy you won't even need a "burner" filet.

Southern Man

Mama's Seafood Gumbo Recipe

This classic Southern gumbo is a crowd-pleaser

Jul 28, 2011 3:16 pm

To quote the regional cookbook Louisiana Entertains, “Good gumbos are like good sunsets: no two are exactly alike, and their delight lies in their variety.”