Table of Contents: From Breakfast With Anita Diamant to Dessert With James Patterson - a Generous Helping of Recipes, Writings and Insights From Today's Bestselling Authors (22 page)

1
Preheat oven to 400°F.

2 To poach the crawfish:
In a 12-quart pot, heat the clarified butter to 160°F and try to maintain this constant temperature. Place the crawfish in the butter and cook for 8–10 minutes, maintaining a constant low temperature. Strain the crawfish, reserving the butter. When cool, peel the crawfish, pat the tail meat dry, and reserve it.

3 To make the biscuits:
Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Using a pastry cutter, 2 knives used in scissor fashion, or your fingertips, cut butter into the flour until pea-sized (it is key to the recipe to have pea-sized pieces). Add the cream and buttermilk, and stir lightly with a fork until a sticky mass forms. Turn onto a floured surface, and fold gently 2–3 times. Use a good bit of flour and only a couple of folds. Be sure not to overwork the biscuits: do not knead, only fold the mixture. The dough should be smooth and cohesive when done. Press dough until it's 1½–2 inches thick. Use a 3- or 4-inch round cookie cutter or glass to cut dough into rounds (you should get 2 or 3 biscuits). Bake on ungreased baking sheet for 13–15 minutes, until golden brown. Remove from oven and brush the tops with melted butter. Allow to cool on baking sheet.

4 To prepare the catfish
(the catfish can be baked in the same oven as the biscuits, space permitting): Season the fish on both sides with salt, pepper, and seafood seasoning. Place on oiled nonstick pan or preheated cast-iron skillet, and bake in oven for approximately 10–12 minutes, until fully opaque. Turn the oven off, cover the fish, and keep warm in the oven for no longer than 15 minutes.

5 To prepare poaching liquid for eggs:
Place water and vinegar in a 3-quart shallow pan and bring to just under a boil.

6
While water is heating, prepare the spinach: Heat oil or butter in medium saucepan over medium heat. Add spinach and sauté until wilted. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside, covered, to keep warm.

7 To poach the eggs:
The water should be at 170°F. Crack each egg into a small cup with a handle. Lower lips of the cups into the water at the same time, and gently tip the eggs into the water. Be sure not to break the yolks as you are placing in the water!You should see the egg whites envelop the yolks and the eggs will float to the top. Cook for approximately 4–5 minutes. The whites should feel and appear firm and the yolks should have a little “give” to them. Using a slotted spoon, remove eggs to a clean dish towel to remove excess water. If the eggs are done before the rest of the dish, no prob-lem! Keep the eggs on the towel, then assemble the dish and place the eggs back into the water to reheat. Season with salt and pepper before layering on dish.

8 To prepare the hollandaise sauce:
Warm reserved butter in a small saucepan. Place egg yolks, vinegar and lemon juice in top of a double boiler or a heatproof bowl set over a pan of gently boiling water. Whisk together. Slowly add the melted butter with constant whisking. After half of the butter is incorporated, add the tablespoon of water, and then add remaining melted butter. Control the temperature of the hollandaise by removing it from the double boiler or pan if it seems too hot. Water can be added (just a little!) if the hollandaise appears too thick. Remove from heat and add the crawfish tails, hot pepper sauce, salt, and pepper. Cover and keep in a warm spot.

9 To assemble the dish:
Split 2 biscuits and place biscuit halves on individual serving plates. If necessary, trim bottom surface of catfish fillets to ensure they will lie flat. Build the Benedict in this order: biscuit, spinach, catfish, egg, and then top with hollandaise. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and serve.

Serves 3–4, or 1 grad student for the better part of a week

I included a recipe for fried chicken because it is, for me, the ultimate Southern comfort food. It's what I make whenever I'm feeling blue or missing my family. And unlike my heroine, Laura, I don't have to kill, disembowel, and pluck a chicken to get it. If I did, I'd undoubtedly be a lot thinner.

1
Put on some appropriate music, e.g., John Lee Hooker, Muddy Waters, or Keb Mo. Pour yourself a beer or a Jack & Coke.

2
Wash chicken and dry well with paper towels, removing any excess skin or fat (but don't remove all of the skin). Season generously with salt and pepper and let sit at room temperature for half an hour.

3
In a large, preferably cast-iron skillet, heat the oil or shortening on medium-high to about 350°F (hot enough that a pinch of flour dropped into it makes a robust sizzle). The liquid should cover the chicken about two-thirds of the way but no more.

4
As the oil or shortening heats, mix the flours and seasoning together in a large resealable plastic bag. Add the dark meat (drumsticks and thighs) and shake until well-coated. Shake off excess flour and place skin side down in the pan. (If you're cooking more than one chicken for a large group, resist the urge to hurry the process by crowding the pan.) Fry until skin is a lovely crisp brown, 7–9 minutes, then turn and fry the other side, 4–6 minutes.

5
Place chicken pieces on a wire rack set over a jelly roll pan to drain, or on a plate covered in paper towels. Coat and fry the white meat pieces next, 10–12 minutes per side for the breasts (longer if they're very thick) and slightly less for the wings.

6
Think of Dixie, and not your arteries, as you savor every last succulent bite.

Deborah Feingold

SELECTED WOEKS

The Wolves of Andover
(2010)

The Heretic's Daughter
(2008)

Inspiration
I grew up hearing stories about Martha Carrier, my grandmother from nine generations back on my mother's side who was hanged as a witch in Salem in 1692. I was always fascinated by the events leading up to the witch trials, but also with the many family tales about the Carrier family's life in seventeenth century New England. I was certain that someday I would weave history and family legend together into a work of fiction, one that that now exists in
The Heretic's Daughter
.

Readers Should Know
Wherever possible, I tried to use actual names, dates, and places to bring authenticity to my work.
The Wolves of Andover
, the prequel to
The Heretic's Daughter
, is the story of Martha's husband Thomas Carrier who, according to family legend, lived to 109, stood seven feet tall, and was one of the executioners of King Charles I of England. As with the first novel, I used both fictitious and true-to-life characters to develop a story of intrigue, one that includes spies, assassins, heroes, and villains.

Readers Frequently Ask
The over-arching theme of
The Heretic's Daughter
is about the Salem witch trials. However, the heart of the book is a coming-of-age story about a daughter learning to appreciate the strength of her difficult mother who unflinchingly defends her innocence through the growing witch hysteria. Many people have asked if the character of Martha was modeled after anyone in particular in my family. With a great deal of pride, I answer that she is a composite character, built from the words and deeds of the ferocious Carrier women I have known.

Authors That Have Influenced My Writing
My favorite books as a young adult were by Charles Dickens. His characters, richly drawn from his own experiences in the back alleys and poor-houses of London, always seemed to reverberate with a profound sense of both the sublime and the ridiculous. And, despite having to sleep with the light on, I often read the works of Edgar Allan Poe for his atmospheric descriptions of the supernatural and the darker side of the human experience.

Makes 12–16 servings

The Heretic's Daughter
is my first novel. The story is based on family legends passed down through nine generations and on the historical events of the Salem witch trials. I first heard of my ancestor Martha Carrier from my maternal grandmother. She always insisted that there were no such things as witches, only ferocious women. She would have known, as she was a dead shot with a rifle and rode wild horses on the farm where she grew up. The strong women in my family not only influenced the kind of stories I've chosen to write, but gave me the courage to write them in the first place.

I have always been struck by the remarkable courage and fortitude of the Colonial women of New England; how they endured the many physical challenges of day-to-day life while still managing to care for and feed their large families in the most Spartan of conditions. They had no electricity, obviously, or refrigeration, and they were entirely dependent on what they could grow and preserve. Sarah, the main character in
The Heretic's Daughter
, is taught by her mother Martha to cook at a young age, a valuable life lesson that becomes essential when Martha is taken away to jail, accused of being a witch. Sarah, a young girl of ten, is left to care for her brothers and baby sister. During the seventeenth century, the Carrier women would have made Johnny Cakes from corn mash in a pan suspended over an open hearth.

I remember my grandmother as a wonderful cook, often using simple, home grown ingredients from her own garden to create deeply satisfying and delicious meals that could best be described as comfort food.

Following is the recipe for Florence Carrier's Cowboy Cake, a modern take on the Johnny Cakes that Martha might have taught Sarah to make. They are best when shared with the ferocious women in your life.

1
Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly butter and flour two 9″ round cake pans.

2
Using a pastry blender or fork, blend brown sugar and shortening or butter. Set aside ½ cup mixture for topping.

3
Sift flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt together (or mix well). Place in the medium bowl of an electric mixer, and add sugar and shortening mixture and blend well. Add baking soda, baking powder, eggs and buttermilk or sour milk and blend well. The batter will be thick.

4
Divide batter between two cake pans and sprinkle with reserved topping. Bake for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted at center of cake comes out clean.

5
The cake can be served warm or at room temperature, like a coffee cake (Mom said her mother always served it right out of the pan with a cake knife, hence the name “cowboy cake”; you could cook and eat out of the same pan).