LIBRARY BOOKS, BIRMINGHAM'S BEST BITES, AND IT IS CHOCOLATE ROULAGE, NOT ROULADE

Martie Duncan September 15, 2014

I have got quite the week in front of me. Some of it is exciting and some is like jail.

The jail part is self imposed. I put myself on lockdown. No phone. No Facebook. I'd say no computer but I have to write. Suddenly, I'm having a flashback to Food Network Star.... ugh. Here's why I'm in self-imposed hiatus.... I'm trying to finish editing the collection of recipes I have gathered for an upcoming cookbook called Birmingham's Best Bites: A Collection of Recipes from Your Favorite Restaurants which will benefit the Birmingham Public Library. I loved the library as a kid and would ride my bike there almost daily in the summer to get new books to read. I bet I read every sports, horse, or Nancy Drew book they had in the place. Here's me... I always fell asleep with a library book on my head.

I'm writing the book with my good friend Chanda Temple, who is the Public Relations Director at the library. Our deadline is this week so I'm on lockdown until I finish. The book will be a great way for the library to raise funds for events and special programs and it will also help the restaurants with their visibility, too. The book launch party happens as the conclusion of this year's Eat, Drink, Read, Write Festival on October 10,2014. I'm helping throw the party. Here's a link to tickets if you want to come. They are only $10. Purchase EDRW Birmingham's Best Bites & Instagrammy's Tickets.

You have to be there to buy the cookbook and there are only a limited number of copies available. Besides, it is going to be a great party with lots of wonderful best bites! There are recipes from Birmingham's James Beard Award winners and nominees: Chef Frank Stitt and Highlands Bar and Grill, Chef Chris Hastings, Hot and Hot Fish Club, Chef James Lewis, Bettola at Pepper Place, Jim 'n Nicks, Ollie Irene, and the iconic The Bright Star in Bessemer. There are recipes from favorite food trucks like Shindigs and Dreamcakes to new-comers like Avondale's Hotbox, Bottle & Bone at Uptown, and the highly anticipated Galley & Garden from Chef James Boyce, Little Savannah, Satterfield's, DoDiYo's, Jinsei, Maki Fresh, Eagles Restaurant, and Ashley Mac and so many, many more have stepped up to participate.

Chanda Temple and I preview our cookbook, Birmingham's Best Bites: Recipes from Birmingham's Restaurants, Bars and Food Trucks

We've even included a "days gone by" section with a history of Birmingham restaurants and recipes from some favorites that have closed. That section includes the recipe for my Chocolate Roulage recipe, inspired by a landmark Birmingham restaurant called Cobb Lane which closed long ago. We used to go there back in the day for special occasions like bridesmaids luncheons and baby showers and the primary reason was for the Roulage. Yes, rou-lage. Not roulade. Yes. I know the French pronounce the rolled up thingie a "rou-lade" but here in Birmingham Alabama, it is and always will be pronounced rou-lage.

This book will be the perfect present for your foodie friends so get a few and keep them for special occasions. The images are by local photographers Arden Ward Upton and Mo Davis of Arden Photography. The photos are stunning and will make the book all the more special. Here is a sneak peek:

Please buy a copy of the hardback version of our Birmingham's Best Bites cookbook, now in its third printing!

FAVORITE FALL RECIPES: CARAMEL APPLE CAKE

Martie Duncan September 12, 2014

When I was a kid, my mom would make us a cake or pie everyday... usually it was pie but on occasion, she would make Apple Dapple Cake... a recipe she got from someone along the way. It was one of the few recipes she actually used and I have a copy of it in her handwriting... a treasured possession. I took that basic recipe and made it into one of my favorite fall desserts by adding the hot caramel because what is more fall than caramel apples? I like to serve it slightly warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

I served this cake to over 300 guests at the after-party following the Hangout's Oyster Cookoff in November to rave reviews. My mom would be so proud.

Caramel Apple Cake is a wonderfully easy cake to make for fall tailgates, festivals, or Saturday morning coffee.

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour plus 15 minutes

INGREDIENTS

3 cups flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 cups pecans, chopped fine

3 apples, peeled and chopped fine

1 1/2 cups vegetable oil (like Wesson)

2 cups sugar

3 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

HOT CARAMEL SAUCE

1 cup packed brown sugar

3/4 cup whole milk

3/4 cup butter (1 1/2 sticks)

DIRECTIONS:

Spray a tube pan with Baker’s Joy or grease and flour it. Preheat oven to 350.

For the cake: Sift together flour, salt, and baking soda. Add apples and pecans. Stir to coat the fruit. Mix together oil, sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Add to the fruit mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for one hour. Remove from the oven and sit on a wire rack to cool. While the cake is still hot, pour the caramel sauce over it and then let it cool completely before removing from the pan.

For the hot caramel sauce: Put the sugar in a saucepan over low heat until it starts to melt. Add the butter. Swirl the pan until the butter melts. Add the milk. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and cook for 3 minutes, stirring constantly so it does not burn. Pour the hot caramel directly over the hot cake while it is still in the pan. Be careful- the hot sugar will burn!

NOTE: It is important to pour the caramel over the cake in the pan because it creates this great coating on the bottom, side and top of the cake. As much as you want to eat it, you have to allow it to cool completely before you remove it from the pan. Run a knife around the edge of the pan to help release it.

EASY TAILGATING SERVING SUGGESTIONS, RECIPES AND GAME DAY TIPS!

Martie Duncan September 7, 2014

IT'S FOOTBALL SEASON... FOUR MONTHS OF GAME DAY TAILGATES, PARTIES, AND TEAM PRIDE. HERE ARE SOME IDEAS TO KEEP IT FRESH, FUN, AND EASY!

tailgate and game day football season tips

VARIATIONS ON A THEME: MIX IT UP…one week Mexican with hats and decor, the next week you can take it to New Orleans with a Mardi Gras menu, the following week make it a Lowcountry crab boil, Italian, Pirate Party, Chili cook-off, beach party, etc. You don't have to go with BBQ, wings, or typical tailgate food every weekend.

MULTI-PURPOSE FOOD: For example, chili works for a variety of different foods... chili pie, tacos, hot dogs, nachos, and more. You can host a chili throwdown where everyone brings a Crock-Pot with their favorite recipe. Add a condiment and hot sauce bar so everyone can add their favorite toppings. Serve chili in individual Fritos or Doritos bags.... yes, serving right in the bag makes yummy Frito chili pie or nachos! This is so good and makes clean up a breeze. Best of all, no dirty dishes to take home.

Serve your chili in individual Frito or Dorito bags... delish and no dishes!

MY TOP 12 TAILGATING AND GAME DAY TIPS

1. When it is still hot outside, make sure to take an extra cooler filled with ice so you can keep drinks and food items cold and have plenty of clean ice for drinks.

2. Use multi-purpose glasses like the insulated glasses from Tervis Tumblers – they keep hot drinks hot and cold drinks cold. LOVE THEM... especially when I have a party inside. No condensation rings and no broken glass. Plus they go right in the dishwasher.

3. A great way to keep hot food hot is to wrap and store them in a cheap Styrofoam cooler and pack it with newspaper. This will keep it hot until you are ready to serve.

4. Do most of the prep at home so you just have simple assembly or grilling when you get to the stadium.

5. If you don’t want to take a cooler- get a case of your favorite drinks, empty it and line with a white or clear garbage bag and put the drinks back and fill with ice. Afterwards, put the whole thing in the trash. I always double the bag so I don't have any leaks. You can also use a beer carton as a condiment holder. Works great! Save the carton from your next 6-pack!

6. Another use for a cardboard drink carrier- is to use it for a condiment carrier or a dip holder. Next time you go to Starbucks, save the carrier. Keeps dips and dippers organized and neat.

7. Pre-cook what you can. You can even pre-cook ribs and finish them on the grill. Just make sure to keep them well chilled.

8. Get in on the Crock-Pot craze…. Plug it in before you go to bed the night before and you’ve got a good start on lunch when you get there. My super easy Fire Roasted Tomato Chipotle Chili is one of my all-time favorite chili recipes and I've had great reviews from people who have made it. Get the recipe....

9. One of the most frustrating things about going to the game is not being able to find your friends or their tailgate! Use a cluster of helium balloons and fly them way over the top of your tent so your friends can spot you from a distance! I got huge balloons and wrote on them with a marker to define our tailgate and help friends locate us easily. Don't use team colors; use pink or something easy to spot.

10. You don’t have to buy special football items or tableware- you can easily make a football field runner from placemats or some other item. I used a green chenille kitchen rug I got on sale for $4 at Target and lined it with white plastic electrician's tape. I got the numbers at Wal-Mart in the mailbox section but you can get stick-on numbers where you get scrapbook supplies also.

A chenille bath rug is a great, cheap table covering... this one was $4 on sale. Stripe with electrician's tape. Afterwards you can wash it and reuse.

11. Bring items in a large plastic tub. When you are ready to pack up, line the tub with a garbage bag and then put your dirty dishes inside. Makes for super easy clean up when you get home!

I love making a few big sandwiches rather than lots of little ones. This is a New Orleans style Muffuletta with lots of cured meats, cheese, and olive salad... it isn't a Central Grocery Muffuletta but really good and perfect for game day.

12. Make giant sandwiches instead of lots of small sandwiches. Just take a large loaf of bread and make one large sandwich. Slice it up and you are good to go! If you make hot sandwiches, make sure to double the foil on the bottom so you do not burn the bread. Open up the top of the foil for the last few minutes to get the bread toasty. Add a little cheese on top and toast it for some extra yum.