Savannah Soulmates

Good morning, everybody. Welcome to Best Dishes. Today's show is all about Savannah soulmates

Today, my friend Damon Leigh Fowler is joining me, and we're making some of our favorite southern classics

starting with a sinfully sweet green tomato pie. Look at that beautiful pie, y'all

Then it's the most tender, smothered pork chops you'll ever eat. Look, I'm even cutting through the bone

Oh, my. Look! And Damon shows me his celery root mashed potatoes that are out of this world

Isn't that good? And then finally, a colorful black-eyed pea dip with a tangy dressing

Oh, my goodness. My friend here is truly a southern food historian

He's got fabulous books out, and he's the studious one, and I'm kind of..

She's the cook. I'm the cook and a little bit of a clown. So..

So Damon is going to fill us in, aren't you? Well, I'm trying

On the roots of this green tomato pie. But first, finish slicing these five green tomatoes while I start on the dry ingredients

Now, I've got one and a fourth cup of sugar and a fourth of a cup of raisins

Well, this one goes way back, Polly. It goes back into the, at least before the Civil War

We don't know how far. The 1850s, at least. See, I told y'all he was smart

It was in a wonderful cookbook written called Versteele's Southern Cooking that was published right after the war between the states

Damon, I hate to interrupt you, honey, but just let me quickly give everybody the measurements

Two tablespoons of tapioca. It goes way back, and I think what it is, is, you know, you just didn't waste anything

in those days. So, you know, you can't use them all ripe, so you might as well use some of those green ones

and get the vines cold down. A half a teaspoon of ground cinnamon

and a fourth of a teaspoon of nutmeg and one teaspoon of orange zest

It's going to give this a little bit of zip. One of the things I love about this pie

is the tartness of the tomatoes. You know, a green tomato is completely different

You know, a green tomato is simply a tomato that has not ripened

And you can see this one was on its way to ripening one. It was headed there

Well, you have got those tomatoes sliced. Yeah. I've got up our sweetness

Give me something to do here. Yeah. If you would get the pie crust out of there, this is going to be a two-crust pie

We've made a simple, standard, homemade pie crust. We have taken it

We've divided our pie crust. And now, Damon, if you would take the top and roll it out

I can do that. I'll be putting our tomatoes in. And here is your roller

You can have this. I will take the pie crust. And I'm just going to line this crust, y'all, with those tomatoes

And remember that after they cook, they're going to shrink. So, Damon, what is it that makes Southern food Southern

I think it's a combination of things, Polly. It's, first of all, the fact that we can have gardens 10 months out of the year

Even in cooler parts of the South, you can have some things growing almost year-round

So that wonderful fresh produce. Then you have the factor of who was cooking in the kitchen

And the symbiosis of African cooks, that European cooking, and then all that wonderful fresh produce sort of comes together and makes southern cooking happen

And I think that's really what sets it apart from other parts of the country

Damon, look at this. Oh, my Lord. Doesn't that look wonderful? Now, you know, if you don't like raisins, you could certainly leave those out

I love the sweetness that raisins add to a dish. So all we're going to do now, y'all, is just put this top layer

You don't want to do this. I will do it. I will do it. Yeah, why don't you? So I'm just going to kind of pull that excess off

And then we're just going to take it. Oops. Get back on there

I want you to stay. All we're going to do is just stick my finger in there and pinch

Take over and finish that up. Yes, you can. And while you're doing that, I'm going to take an egg

and we're going to use the white part to brush the top of our pie

because it's going to make it beautiful and glossy. Damon! Well... You're the pie crust man, baby

So we're going to cut into this pie. Those little slits are going to allow the steam to escape from our pie

Look at that man. He's my historian. This is a serious knife Paula Yeah it kind of serious How many books do you have out now I have six books Get out honey You been a busy boy So this looks great

It just needs one more little thing, a little bit of sugar, just a little bit of sugar

You and I are a lot alike. We believe in sugar and butter. Sugar and butter, honey

I think that's what the South was built on. So this will kind of crystallize on top of this pie

it'll just give it a nice little finish. All right. Pretty color

So, Damon, let's bring it down, honey. Put it in the oven

Now, we're going to bake this pie for 25 minutes at 425

So we're going to have it in a hot oven so it'll brown quickly. Then, after 25 minutes, we're going to turn the oven down to 350

and continue to bake it for 20 minutes until those tomatoes are nice and soft

and juicy and luscious. A southern classic, y'all. Smothered pork chops. I just kind of love pig, you know what I'm saying

Rich and creamy celery root mashed potatoes. Now we talking, baby. And we're finishing up with a refreshing black-eyed pea dip

I've got Damon Fowler in the kitchen with me. He's a food historian, a fellow Savanian

and a dear friend of mine. and he's about to share with us one of his recipes

his low country smothered pork chops. I just seasoned this side. I'm going to flip them over now and season the second side

with a little bit of salt, pepper, and cayenne. Ooh, that is cayenne

A little bit of cayenne. Oh, yeah, this is cayenne. This is not paprika. Okay, I thought it might be paprika

This is a wake-up call. And those are beautiful chops. They are probably an inch thick, y'all, center-cut chops

A little bit of salt. Is there anything I can do? Could you put a little flour in here for me, please

Do you want it here? Yeah, just right there on that plate. You can wash your hands if you would like

Okay, I'm going to wash my hands. Damon, while I'm doing this, I don't want you to..

I wash my hands about 30 times when I'm in the kitchen. Well, I don't want you to put your finger in the wrong place

and that cayenne really lights you up. Oh, yeah. And I'm going to put a couple of tablespoons of butter

You know, we've got to have some butter in this. Yes, we do. And that's a little more than two tablespoons

but who's counting, right? Certainly not I. You know, you feel free to put some more if you need it here

We just get those lightly coated with the flour. We don't need them to be real heavy

Okay, so we'll just shake it off. Yeah, we'll just shake off the excess. There you go

Okay, well, I've got you on pretty much high. Yeah, well, that works for me

I'm going to let them brown on both sides. And while they're doing that, we'll come over and we're going to play with some peppers here

Okey-doke. We've got some bell pepper. We've got chicken chnop over here

And these are the characteristic flavors. You know, they always talk about that Holy Trinity in the Creole kitchen

Absolutely, yes. Well, it was here first. They don't like to hear that

So what I like to do is take the top off the pepper like that and then take the bottom off

And then you can just sort of push all those seeds out of the way. Then you can come in with the knife and cut through at that point and just lay the food flat

And then we're going to just cut it into pieces. And I always pop out that stem and use every piece

I always use every bit of it, too. And I'll just give you one and let you go play with it over there

All right, there's a bell pepper. Oh, that one's really pretty. Yes

All four of them are pretty to me. I just kind of love pig, you know what I'm saying

All right, now I see you've got some garlic over there. Would you like, Mamita

Yeah, about three cloves of garlic. So if you could peel those and mince those for me. Okay

And I'm going to start on the onion because I'm just going to cut this onion into strips

All right. Now let me get you a plate, Damon. I think they're ready to come out, Paula

Okay. So now I'm going to put those peppers in and the onions

If you want to wait to put the garlic in, I always wait because garlic cooks at a different rate from peppers and onions

I want to get a little color on the onion, and I want the peppers to get a nice bright green

Ready for the caramel cat? Oh, I think so, yeah. I'm going to push this to the side, and then we're going to put these chops right back in here

And we're getting it off to the side. Then I'm going to take those peppers and onions in

and you're going to pour that little pork juice in that? Oh, yeah. Well, we need to put that pork juice

Okay. I'm going to clean my hands up. If you'll put the peppers and onions back on top of the chops for me

Okay. Because what we want to do is we're smothering them with that

Now, I'm going to add enough broth to sort of half cover these things, about two cups

Uh-huh. We don't want it to completely cover them. It's really almost a braise that we're going to do here

One more thing I've got to add to this before we cover it up is some Worcestershire sauce

So let me just grab it behind you here and we just dash a little of that in You know this is a real southern thing using lots of Worcestershire sauce We got a bubble going so let go ahead and cover it Take some tinfoil and I just gonna work it

together like this because that's a pretty big pot. So look at there we have

a lid. All right we're gonna let this simmer for about 45 minutes. Is that correct

Yes, until they're tender. They might be tender enough in 10 minutes for me. I am so hungry

Well, let's move on down here, Damon, and get started on our celery root mashed potatoes

This is a celery root. You can get them in a regular grocery store. And what we're going to do is just take the root off

Yes. Because you see, when I cut in here, there's still some root up underneath. Right

Because the bottom of it really has a lot of clumping in it. Right. It reminds me of a trimmed pineapple

A little bit, yeah. What I like to do is switch at this point to a vegetable peeler because you take off a little bit less of it

So I know this is one of the ugliest and most unpromising looking vegetables

but they add a creamy richness to the mashed potatoes that you just kind of fall over

Honey, I'm smart enough to know that beauty is only skin deep

We're making a delicious black-eyed pea dip. Look at the colors of that

It looks so good. And don't forget those celery root mashed potatoes and our delicious green tomato pie, y'all

Oh my goodness. In case y'all have just tuned in, I'm in here with my Savannah soulmate, Damon Fowler

We've got our smothered pork chops going. Look at those smothered pork chops

They're looking great. And while you're chopping up your six russet potatoes and one celery root for mashed potatoes

I'm going to make us a black-eyed pea dip. And this is very simple

I'm going to take two cans of black-eyed peas. And this is one of those great dishes where, yes, it's legal to use a canned pea

All right, that's one can. And like I said, I just want to drain it. And then I'm going to pour it all into my bowl and my second can

There we go. Just give that a swish. And then I'm gonna use one 15-ounce can of whole kernel corn

and we're also gonna drain that. And then I'm gonna use one 10-ounce can of a spicy tomato

And these come in different heat forms. You can go to real hot to a mild

and they're delicious for hot dips, Mexican dishes. We rely on those a lot for that

The last thing that's going to go in is a jar of pimentas, and I'm using a four-ounce jar

I'm just going to drain those and throw those in. They're going to be pretty red color for us

So I'm going to put this in the sink, and then I'm going to come down, and I'm going to make the dressing for our black-eyed pea salad

And look at the colors of that, the pretty black eyes on the peas and whole kernels of corn

Looks so good. All right, Damon, you're about through. If you could put the celery root and the potatoes on the stove back there

Oh, sure. We're going to let them cook for about 20 minutes

I need a couple of tablespoons of chopped jalapeno peppers, and we're going to use a fresh

I need some red bell pepper and some green and the rest of that onion chopped up

I'm going to start making our dressing for our black-eyed pea salad

I'm going to start with a half a cup of red wine vinegar

I'm going to add about a tablespoon of Dijon mustard, tablespoon of balsamic vinegar

half a teaspoon of dried oregano, and then I'm going to add a fourth of a teaspoon of sugar

Now I'm going to add a half a cup of olive oil

So how are you coming on those vegetables? I've got the jalapeno chopped up here

Now I'm going to add a half a cup of vegetable oil

So we're using a full cup of oils for our dressing. Well, you're a little busy, so I'm going to walk behind you to the bowl

Oh, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Let me pass it to you. Now we're using two different kind of oils because you're going to get a different flavor with the olive oil

Now, I'm going to... Hopefully, this jar is seal-proof. But you know what

Just to make sure I don't sling oil all over me, I think I'm going to take a rag

That sounds like a good idea. That sounds like a good plan, doesn't it, Damon

Just to make sure. And I'm just going to shake, shake, shake, shake it

I'm shaking my booty down here. Oh isn't that gorgeous? Isn't that pretty? So we're just gonna pour this over our

black peas and y as this sits in the refrigerator it just get better and better You ready for some onion now I so ready for it Okay You tell me when You can put too many onions for me

All right. So this is looking good, Damon. You're going to get the bell pepper in there

I'm getting the pepper cut up. And I'm going to put a little salt and pepper. You know, I'm mostly a home-cooked Paula, so I'm a little slow

You probably have to fire me at the Lady and Sons. No, honey. Listen, I'm the same way

You know, I don't want to necessarily be the fastest. I just want to be the most precise, and I want to have ten digits when I walk away

That's my goal. You know, one of the things I love about things like this, Paula

is that it really is an example of all the fresh produce we have in the South

and how we can have salads a lot longer in the season than you can in other parts of the country

I'm right with you. This looks wonderful. Let's taste. Oh, I've got to taste this

This looks so wonderful. Mmm. Isn't that yummy? Perfect for a football game food, isn't it

Mm-hmm. We're mixing up our celery root mashed potatoes. I can see why you would go to that extra little trouble

That's out of this world. And we're finally going to get to dig into our green tomato pie

Great time of day. What are you doing, honey? I am ricing these potatoes that we cooked for the mashed potatoes

It looks just like rice. Maybe that's why they call it a ricer. I think that might be it, but, you know, this helps to keep the potatoes smooth

I'm going to get that off of there. That looks just like rice. Doesn't it? What I need for you to do, honey, instead of getting your hand in the pot

is drain those celery roots for me while I finish this up. Oh, okay

And we've got our celery roots right back here. You know what that looks like now

It still looks like pineapple to me. You know, I said that earlier, and I stand by my story

Well, it really kind of does. So what we're going to do is put it into the blender

We're going to add a half a cup of cream to that. Now we talking, baby

And a couple of tablespoons of butter. Pass me the butter, and I'll add the butter. Okay

You add the cream. Okay. Now, how much butter did you say

Two tablespoons. things. Okay, right. I feel you. So, now don't get too much in there, Paula, because

I've got to put some in the mashed potatoes. I've got more. Oh, well

I should know that by now. So now we're going to add

the cream, and the cream's going to help us liquefy it. Uh-huh. So we're just going to switch

this on. I hope it's not so hot that the top explodes

I know. I've never had that happen. I have, too. Oh, I hear it laboring

Yeah, it's getting so it's nice and thick and it smells so good

Does it? It does. So now I'm going to take the rest of this butter

We're going to mash that butter into the potatoes. And while you're doing that, I'm going to take the pie out of the oven because I think..

Look at that beautiful pie, y'all. green tomato pie, y'all. I'm swallowing hard now, Damon

So I'm adding another half a cup of cream to these. Okay. And I'll mix that in

Now, if you can hand me the celery root, you can add that. I'll stir it in

Just kind of pour it? Just pour it right on in there. And see how rich it is

Yeah, I see. Yeah. I will use the cooking liquid from the celery root

Isn't that good? Oh my goodness. So I want to add a little more salt to this

Then we'll add a little bit of pepper. You know, I can see why you would go to that extra little trouble

That's out of this world. Out of this world. I'm going to uncover those fabulous pork chops

And you can show me how you would plate this dish. Oh my goodness

Great time of day. Damon, this looks fabulous. You know, these, look, look

Oh, they're fork tender. They're fork tender. Look, I'm even cutting through the bone

Oh, my. Look. Celery root homemade mashed potatoes. Oh, Lordy

Those potatoes were good by themselves. Lord have mercy. I gotta taste this pie

They're just really terrific Isn't it out of the world? This is a great way to celebrate history

In fact, this is what I've always yearned to do with my history books

Eat them Eat them