Recently I just finished re-watching The Green Mile and it was around the end, during Michael Clark Duncan's most powerful scene, he was asked what would he like as his last meal. He request was simply "Meatloaf would be nice, mashed potatoes, gravy, okra, and maybe some of that fine corn bread your misses make [referring to Paul Edgecomb's spouse]". For some reason that line struck a chord, I got an insight into what kind of man this character was, simple and seeking something that resembled home. Call me a sap, but I was absolutely compelled to recreate this dish in honor of him, part of me wasn't satisfied of the fact that I get to see this dish be enjoyed. Haha
When it came to deciding how I wanted to approach this, simple and as old school as possible would be the right choice, no fro-froing today. The only thing I'll a stickler about is putting a little more emphasis on the meat rather than the loaf aspect, I've had way to many breaded-down versions in my time (and I'm sure you have too).
Meatloaf: I got my recipes from a jumble of sources but a southern cooking post can't go without at least a nod towards the queen of southern comfort, Paula Dean (hold the 10lbs of lard and sugar).
Okra: This post is a bit convoluted, but I really enjoyed it for the back story/history and attention to detail. To save you all the jumping, skipping and back tracking, I'll just give you the nitty gritty right here. Now he didn't exactly give us exact measurements, so it'll be something you'll have to eyeball.
-Cut Okra into half inch slices (removing tip and stem base), liberally adding salt to help absorb the moisture.
-Toss in a bowl a couple times with enough cornmeal to lightly cover the Okra and season with pepper. Let it sit in the bowl to allow the cornmeal to adhere (I went up to an hour).
- Pour into skillet with just enough oil to come up halfway on the sides of the sliced okra. Heat oil to the hottest point without smoking and add enough okra to cover the whole pan completely.
-Turn the heat down to medium high, cover over the pan with a tight-fitting lid and let it sizzle for a 2-3 minutes- check undersides for browning.
-Flip for a couple more minutes, until browned. Serve immediately
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Cornbread: I would play with the temp./time settings. Mine got a little too dark after just barely 30 minutes.
Mashed Potatoes : Dead simple, and absolutely fantastic.
It's summer, it's time to grill, and it's someone's birthday,what a better way to celebrate!?!
Co-hosting this together with J. Kao was a whole lotta fun, and a tad nerve-racking at first, but that comes with the territory. She directed the event and I manned the grilling section for the evening. Which, I will use as my excuse for the lack of photos later into the evening, aside from the fact that we where all slipping into food comas.
We started off the the afternoon with some simple grilled corn and some Zucchini Spears that where marinated in Lemon Olive Oil (from 41 Olive ) for a couple hours then sprinkled with some Garlic-Pepper just before they hit the grill.
I love Kabobs, but I loathe the process of meticulously sliding each an every bit onto the skewers for over the course of an hour and some change, oy. But honestly it was a labor of love that ended up being a hit, so that goes to show! Haha
The variety we feasted on are originally based from a issue of Men's Health issue I had lying around. Each marinade batch is enough for 1.5 lbs of meat, which was luckily enough to make one skewer for each of us (9 in total).
-Lemon-Pepper Shrimp w/ Basil, Tomato, & Prosciutto- This one was the crowd pleaser, works well with just about any type of seafood. In a bag just toss 1/3 cup of olive oil + 1 tsp grated lemon zest + 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice + 2 finely chopped garlic cloves + 1 tsp salt + 1 tsp ground pepper.
-Teriyaki Beef w/ Pickled Ginger & Scallions: The grilled pickled ginger comes way out of left field with an unexpected savory profile along side the equally sweet scallions. Originally the types of cuts called for either Blade, Flatiron, or Skirt. I opted for Stew Beef chunks that came out surprisingly well, but one of my friends suggested using Ribeye, which I'll eagerly use for the next time. Same process as above, just toss together in a bag 1 tsp minced garlic + 1 tsp minced fresh ginger + 1/2 cup of soy sauce + 1 tbsp sugar.
-Curried Yogurt Chicken w/ Okra & Smokey Bacon- This one is my personal favorite, as I have secret love for all things curry, combining the complex flavors with the smokiness of the bacon has me sold. As for the type of chicken meat, I'm a thigh guy (boneless), dark meat is more flavorful. I believe you got the idea down, 1 cup full-fat yogurt + 1 tsp curry powder + 1tsp salt + 1/2 tsp ground pepper.
You can go ahead at let them sit in the fridge for a few hours but I did it for almost 24, which undoubtedly makes a great difference.
The Fig Margaritas where absolutely perfect for the warm evening, not too sweet, not too boozy. I just tweaked the tequila portions to 1.5 oz and switched out the sparkling water with sparkling limeade from Trader Joe's (in effect, it added any missing sweetness).
Watermelon Granita was provided in part by Jamie and when paired with some Sugar Cookies it made for a surprisingly delightful combination.
But after few hours of grilling, feasting, and imbibing I have to say there where still some more golden moments to come. One particular event involved the unwrapping of large teddy bear with its hands tied behind it's back (a sight to behold as it was getting carried away). While another was one of our random group discussions that started off about Oliver (the chubby house cat) resembling meatloaf, which turned into talks about the socio-economical impacts on nutrition, to deep space exploration, to Pokemon and somehow back to Oliver being plump. This stuff just happens, we're pretty weird when we get together.
At the end of the day all I can do is exhale a deep breath of relief and satisfaction as it was time clean up, time just skips so soon on us.
I would like to thank everyone that attended for coming and making this evening so special, everything you brought was especially delicious! And I would like to include one more Happy Birthday to Kelly, don't let that one year pass you. Hah
