Wonder Woman of the High South - Mollie Catherine Mullis

Wh0: Mollie Catherine Mullis

Where: Oven & Tap, Bentonville

What:  Perfect Mashed Potatoes

Dighero’s Insights: Mollie Mullis is one of the kindest, most positive people embedded in the culinary landscape of the High South. As partner in the esteemed Oven & Tap restaurant in Bentonville, she seamlessly applies passion and nuance to the work she does every day. She is a breath of fresh air as a female powerhouse in an otherwise male-dominated industry. Trust when I say that her Perfect Mashed Potatoes, the best I’ve ever had, are just one of her many talents and virtues.

Perfect Mashed Potatoes

Ingredients:

4 pounds Russet potatoes, peeled and diced

4 teaspoons kosher salt (plus more for boiling potatoes)

1 cup Irish butter (regular butter will also do), melted

2 cups heavy cream

Special Equipment: Food mill with fine-dish attachment

Technique:

Place potatoes in a large pot and cover with cold water. Add a large handful of salt (water should taste like the ocean) and bring to a boil. • Reduce heat and simmer until potatoes are fork tender, 20-25 minutes. • Drain, and briefly rinse with cool water to remove any excess starches, then set aside. • Warm the butter, cream and 4 teaspoons of salt in a small saucepan over medium until it comes to a simmer, about 5 minutes. • Remove pan from heat.

Pass hot potatoes through food mill into a large bowl (cold potatoes will become gummy), adding 1 ½ cups of the butter and cream mixture while milling the potatoes. • Once all of the potatoes have been milled, pour the remaining butter and cream mixture into potatoes, ½ cupful at a time, folding the liquid gently into the potatoes. Be careful not to overwork the potatoes. •  Serve mashed potatoes topped with a few pads of Irish butter and cracked black pepper.

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Warning: CHUNK Rock Cookies May Cause Creativity and Individuality

Bake whatever the hell you want, whenever you want - and for contingency of rule following sheep that contend baking is ONLY an exact science, and you should never stray from a recipe, technique - my response is simply, “Not ALL great recipes come from a cookbook!” Just like music is meant to be played, rearranged according to the person making it - baking is no different; bake it just like you’re feeling - and if you do that, there is no WRONG way! {Also - these cookies taste better with the music cranked UP - pissing off the neighbors, smelling up the house}

“punk was defined by an attitude rather than a musical style” - David Bryne

Chunk Rock Cookies

 ·        1 1/2 cups ap flour

·         1 1/2 cups bread flour

·         1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

·         1 teaspoon cardamom

·         1 teaspoon salt

·         2 sticks salted butter

·         1/2 cup sugar

·         1 1/2 cups dark brown sugar

·         1 teaspoons vanilla

·         1 teaspoon bourbon

·         2 large eggs, plus 1 egg yolk

·         12 oz. chocolate, chopped into chunks

·         ¼ cup toasted, salted sesame seeds

Technique

Preheat oven to 360ºF. Place parchment on baking sheet – coat with pan spray.

Mix together flours, cardamom, baking powder, and salt in a medium sized bowl.

Brown the butter in a hot pan, careful not to burn, but to cook until simmering, slightly brown, nutty.  Set aside to cool for 5 minutes.

Next, add the sugars, bourbon, and vanilla into a food processor or mixer.  Paddle ingredients until blended, then slowly add the eggs and yolk.  Once silky smooth, slowly add flour mixture until dough forms - then stir in chocolate chunks.

Drop medium sized dough balls onto parchment covered sheet pan.  Press half a dozen (or so) sesame seeds into the top of each ball – then bake for 15 minutes, or until golden brown. 

Wonder Woman of the High South - Chef Melody Lane

Chef Melody and Case - She Hates when he makes that face.

Who:  Melody Lane

Where:  Crystal Bridges of Museum Art

What:  Kabocha Wrapped in Lotus Leaves

Insights from the Food Editor:  Chef Melody Lane is quite possibly the best kept secret in not only the High South region, but perhaps the entire country.  Her experience is wide and diverse, ranging from owning an exclusive tea store in her home town, to the important role in the cultural, food explosion in Kansas City during the eighties, serving as working chef, culinary director to the Nelson Adkins museum, and even as world class, esteemed  fisher(woman) off the coast of Belize in the early 2000s.  Her nuanced, stylized technique of cooking matched with her uncanny knack for creating food inspired from art has made her a mentor to not only this chef, but culinarians all over the world.  Please note that both the Lotus Leaves and Kabocha pumpkins listed in this recipe are available at most Asian markets, including Mama Tang’s and Asian Amigo in Springdale.     

Kabocha - Well Stuffed

Kabocha Wrapped in Lotus Leaves

Ingredients:

3 large Lotus leaves,
1 medium Kabocha or Japanese Pumpkin
3 cups sliced bread, cubed  
2 cups shredded Gruyere, White Cheddar, and Smoked Gouda cheeses - combined  1 cup of Heavy Cream  4 sprigs fresh Thyme 2 tablespoons Salt
Pinch Nutmeg 
Pinch Black Pepper  Kitchen Twine

Technique:

Soak lotus leaves in warm water for three hours. After soaking, preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Cut, remove the top of the kabocha, remove seeds and hollow out interior. 

Wonder Women of the High South - Mel, Maudie, Chrissy

Rub tablespoon salt into interior flesh.  In large mixing bowl, combine cubed bread, cheeses, heavy cream, salt, pepper, and nutmeg.  Fill interior of kabocha with bread mixture, replace top.  Wrap pumpkin in lotus leaves and tie with kitchen twine, like you would a package.
Bake in shallow pan for 2 ½ hours or until soft to the touch.  Cut string, open package, enjoy. 

*Mel’s Note:  Feel free to add pecans, apples, cinnamon, dried cranberries, or fresh herbs to the bread mixture.
      

Full article featured here: https://www.citiscapes.com/eats-drinks

Hot Thoughts Yield Hot Pork and Mustard Greens Soup

It’s officially Fall, the air is sharp, and my small garden of Winter squash, peas, cauliflower, and mustard greens is vibrant green. It’s time to harvest the greens that are pretty, billowy, wide leaves that rise from the ground like a green, auburn fountain. But what to make first? Perhaps greens with ham hocks, a crunchy salad, or fragrant soup? The chill in the air nudges me toward a rich, pungent Asian soup with spicy pork, ginger, soy, and garlic - perhaps wide rice noodles to add a bit of dark, earthy texture and flavor - mmmm, yes,

I pick my greens carefully, tasting the sturdy leaves for ripeness, then trimming close to the ground - hearty, with a whisper of spiciness that gives my palate and tummy a giggly flip flop. I hope you enjoy the recipe - a perfect way to cuddle up tonight to watch the election results in your town, city - #voteblue

Hot Thoughts Hot Pork and Mustard Greens Soup

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground pork

• 3 cloves garlic, minced

• 2 tablespoons ginger, grated

• 1 tablespoon sambal

• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

• 1 teaspoon garam masala

• 2 tablespoon sesame oil

• 1 tablespoon butter

• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

• 7 cups chicken stock

• 2 bunches mustard greens, torn - 6 cups

• 8 oz. can bamboo shoots, chopped

• 8 green onions, chopped

• 1 bunch fresh cilantro, 1/2 chopped, 1/2 whole leaf

• 1/4 cup soy sauce

• 2 tablespoons fish sauce

• 12 oz. Forbidden rice noodles - wide variety

Technique

1. Combine pork, garlic, ginger, sambal, red pepper flakes, and garam masala - Heat oil in soup pot over medium heat. Add pork mixture; season accordingly with salt, pepper - cook until browned, fragrant.

2. Add chicken stock and bring to a boil; reduce, simmer until fragrant. Add mustard greens, green onions, chopped cilantro, bamboo shoots, soy sauce, and fish sauce, stirring occasionally over simmer, until greens are tender.

3. While soup simmers, cook Forbidden Rice noodles in salted water until al dente.

4. Add noodles to the finished soup - serve garnished with cilantro and green onions..

Wonder Woman of the High South - Chef Maudie Schmitt

Who:  Maudie Schmitt

Where:  Café Rue Orleans

What:  Crab and Shrimp Mirliton Stuffing

Insights from the Metro-billy:  Chef Maudie Schmitt is the godmother of authentic, comfort food in Northwest Arkansas as owner, chef of Café Rue Orleans, one of the most successful, longest running restaurants around.  She graced the pages of Citiscapes nearly 15 years ago with her famed Deep Fried Turkey technique, and hasn’t missed a beat with this classic Louisiana Chayote stuffing recipe that is certain to become a favorite for your family, friends this Holiday season. 

Crab and Shrimp Mirliton Stuffing

Ingredients:

6 Mirlitons, chopped

1 pound Jumbo Lump Crabmeat

1 pound (70–90 count) Shrimp, peeled and deveined

¼ pound Butter

1 cup yellow Onion, diced

1 cup Celery, diced

½ cup Red Bell Peppers, diced

¼ cup Garlic, minced

Salt and Black Pepper, to taste

Louisiana Hot Sauce, to taste

¼ cup chopped Parsley

2 cups Italian Bread Crumbs

1/2 pound Butter

Technique: 

Pre-heat oven to 375°F. Boil mirlitons in lightly-salted water 30–40 minutes or until tender. Remove from water and cool. In 12-inch cast iron skillet, melt butter over medium-high heat. Sauté mirliton, onions, celery, bell peppers, garlic in butter for three to five minutes, or until vegetables are wilted.

Add shrimp and cook two to three minutes or until pink and curled. Cook additional fifteen to twenty minutes, stirring until flavors develop. After most of liquid has evaporated, remove from heat, then season with salt, pepper, hot sauce and parsley. Fold in crabmeat, being careful not to break lumps.

Sprinkle in approximately 1½ cups of bread crumbs to absorb excess liquid and to hold stuffing. Place mixture in baking pan and sprinkle with remaining bread crumbs. Bake 30 minutes or until golden brown.

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