Fare Exchange: Two ways to enjoy fried green tomatoes (one with cheese)

Jane Henegar

April is fleeing fast away, and a quick visit to the Lost and Not Yet Found (in the recesses of Fare Exchange through the years) produced a batch of challenges for you. Can you provide for us Cheddar cheese scones, recipes using Swiss chard, where to find local trout, dark-chocolate-covered espresso beans, ceviche and how to preserve chopped garlic like the jars found in grocery stories? And how about any recipes using grated fresh ginger, one correspondent's favorite taste?

FRIED GREEN TOMATOES

As requested, here is the Grainger County version of fried green tomatoes. Rather, here are two, one for the barely ripe and one for green, but they are not all the possibilities generated by this tomato-filled county. Our source is Barbara Smith, and the book from which they came is "Cooking With Grainger County Tomatoes."

Fried Grainger County Barely Ripe Tomatoes With Cheese Sauce

6 large tomatoes, barely ripe

Salt and pepper

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup butter or margarine, divided

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 cups milk or half-and-half

1 cup (4 ounces) shredded mild Cheddar cheese

Cut tomatoes into 1/4-inch slices. Sprinkle with salt and pepper; dredge in 3/4 cup flour.

Melt 1/4 cup butter in a heavy skillet. Add tomatoes, and fry slowly until browned, turning once. Arrange tomatoes on warm deep serving platter.

Melt remaining butter in a heavy saucepan; add 3 tablespoons flour, stirring until smooth. Cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Gradually add milk; cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until thickened and bubbly. Add cheese, stirring until melted. Pour cheese sauce over tomatoes and serve immediately. Yield: 8 servings.

Fried Green Tomatoes

4 large green tomatoes

1 1/2 cups buttermilk

2 cups fine cornmeal

2 tablespoons kosher salt

2 teaspoons ground black pepper

Cut ends off the tomatoes, and slice each tomato into about 3 (1/2-inch) pieces. Put tomato slices in a large bowl. Add buttermilk, and turn to coat each slice. Marinate for 5 minutes.

Place a large heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil to come 2/3 up the side of the pan, and heat oil to 325 degrees.

In a wide bowl, mix cornmeal, salt and pepper. Working in batches, remove tomatoes from buttermilk, shaking off excess, and dip in cornmeal to coat each side. Shake off the excess cornmeal. Slip the sides into the oil in a single layer and fry until golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes on each side. Drain on paper towels.

GROCERY SEARCHES

Here are notes from a written conversation with Mr. and Mrs. Sunday.

"Whole Foods carries coconut aminos. It's reminiscent of soy sauce but doesn't carry the full umami punch. If you add a little Vegemite or Marmite (the latter in the same store), you can kick up the flavor. That's what we do when cooking Asian for soy-averse friends.

"Also, Thais lean more on fish sauce than they do soy sauce. Soy sauce in a Thai dish usually means a non-Thai in the kitchen. That's why substituting soy sauce for fish sauce doesn't really work in a Thai dish. Yes, we know fish sauce is seriously stinky, but you don't use very much and it tends to disappear behind other flavors. Our current favorite is Golden Boy.

"On a less happy note, we recently bought a tub of NatureSweet Cherubs grape tomatoes and found them watery. We hope it's just a fluke, but we'll be on guard and trying others again." (This last comment came from an earlier recommendation of these sweet small tomatoes for days when summer tomatoes are not available.)

SHORTCAKE

Ginny Gaines is always thinking about the season when she sends her well-seasoned recipes. Strawberries are a feature of a recent email. "I'm sending a shortcake recipe, from Nathalie Dupree. This one is from 'Southern Memories,' one of the most delightful cookbooks I have. More stories and excellent recipes; this book is a keeper."

Pecan Shortcake

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter (if using salted, add no other salt)

1/2 cup pecan meal or very finely ground pecans (may be ground in the blender)

1 cup heavy cream (half-and-half works too)

Whipped Cream Topping:

1 1/2 cups heavy cream, whipped and flavored

2 to 3 tablespoons bourbon (optional, for flavoring)

Strawberries

Combine the flour, sugar and baking powder in mixing bowl. Cut in the chilled butter until the size of small peas. Add the pecan meal and combine, then gently mix in the cream just until blended. Pat the dough in a round about 3/4 inch thick. Use a floured 3-inch cutter to make 6 rounds and place them 1/2 inch apart on the greased baking sheet. Bake 13 to 15 minutes, until puffed and lightly browned. Cool on a rack. When they have cooled slightly, split them. Spoon a generous amount of berries on the bottom slice, add a generous amount of whipped cream, and top with the other biscuit. (Add more berries and cream, if you like.)

RIB-STICKING RIBS

Here's another recipe from "A Floured Hand Up," shared with us by Lynn Carroll.

Rainy Day Ribs

1 rack baby back pork ribs

3 tablespoons or more liquid smoke

Salt and pepper

Louisiana hot sauce

Rinse ribs, and pat dry. Rub liquid smoke on both sides. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and Louisiana hot sauce. Make a mixture of at least 3 tablespoons liquid smoke and 7 tablespoons water. Place ribs on a foil-lined pan, and pour liquid mixture around them. Pan should be just barely covered with the mixture. Seal well with foil and cook at 250 degrees for 3 to 5 hours. Meat should be coming off the bone when done. Serve with barbecue sauce if desired.

JUST A DASH

Susie from Kentucky said she was unimpressed with this easy dessert "until I tried it. We call these French S'Mores."

Split a croissant lengthwise. Spread each side with marshmallow cream. Break chunks of 70 percent cacao dark chocolate over marshmallow cream. Put in a dying oven until the marshmallow cream and chocolate soften, or heat in oven on very low just until barely soft. Serve at once.

What a delightful variety you have sent us, as always. And we send you our thanks, on behalf of all the rest of us.