Taste and Create XIII- Pure southern comfort

Dianne, from Dianne's Dishes, my Taste and Create partner for this month, spent her childhood in the U.S. south, so I thought I'd try some real southern food in honour of that. What could be more southern than fried chicken (Maryland of course) and Hushpuppies? I always thought that Hushpuppies were a brand of shoe up until now, but these fried cakes of cornmeal are so light and fluffy, they certainly don't resemble anything like an old boot.

I was unsure whether the polenta that I substituted for the cornmeal was suitable, guessing that cornmeal is perhaps a bit finer, but they were still really good with a nice crisp outer coating. A bit of leftover chopped parsley was thrown in for good measure and flavour.

The chicken, after an overnight marinate in buttermilk, was sensational. The seasoning of the flour mixture with vegetable bullion powder and garlic powder produced a flavour that even the famous Colonel would be envious of. I used my deep fryer to cook the chicken, finishing it off in the oven to crisp up even further. I reckon it's the best darned chicken I've ever had and I'll definitely be making it again, real soon.

So thank you Dianne for introducing real Southern Food into my cooking repertoire. We all loved it.

Moroccan mania for Taste and Create

Right now I'm in the height of a Moroccan obsession, and so I was duly excited to be paired up with Ann and Jack from from Redacted Recipes this month, for Taste and Create, a monthly event created and coordinated by Nicole.

Tagines are a regular guest at our dinner table, at least once a week. The mention of "stew" for dinner always brought comments of disdain from the family in the past, but if the word "tagine" is substituted, there isn't a problem. It sounds much more exotic, and of course it really is, because Moroccan spices make an ordinary old stew sing like a star.

So dinner last light was a lamb tagine. This dish was so delicious, the cinnamon really shone through, and the prunes gave it a fruity lift. I think it's the first time everyone ate zucchini without leaving it to the side of the plate.

Ann and Jack's recipe can be found here. I really wanted to serve this with their Za'atar Bread to mop up the luscious juices, but just ran out of time. I will make it next time though, and the lamb tagine will definitely be on our menu again.