One of the great parts of my culinary program at BU is that we often have chefs from area restaurants come in to teach us for the day. This keeps things interesting by allowing us to experience many different styles of cuisine, as well as the personalities of the chefs that are behind them. Today we had chef Barry Maiden of Cambridge's Hungry Mother restaurant, located in Kendall Square. I was skeptical at first, because southern food always makes me think of vegetables that have been cooked until there are absolutely no nutrients left, and lots of fried food and butter. Not that this kind of food can't be absolutely delicious going down, it just tends to leave me groaning about half hour after the meal. Barry's food totally changed my mind about how this regional cuisine can be prepared. His small 50 seat eatery focuses on "real southern cooking", as in no fried chicken or mac and cheese on the menu. He also is completely committed to using local and sustainable foods whenever possible, supplemented by ordering key ingredients such as ground to order grits straight from South Carolina. In order to illustrate the divers flavors that are innate in southern food, we made the following items of the Hungry Mother menu:
To Start - Spicy Pimiento Cheese Dip
First Course - Maine Shrimp & Grits with Tasso Ham and New Orleans BBQ sauce
Main Course - Cornmeal Crusted Catfish with Collard Greens
On the Side - Skillet Cornbread with Sorghum Butter
Dessert - Chocolate Peanut Pie
Each course was more delicious than the next, packed full of intense flavor, yet not as heavy as you would expect. The unexpected details, such as a hint of cayenne in the peanut pie and the sweet taste of sorghum (slightly like molasses) melting on the cornbread, make these dishes truly unforgettable. The pimiento cheese dip, a real southern classic I am told, was love at first bite. I will absolutely be bringing that to my next potluck. My only wish at the end of class was that I could empty my stomach and start eating it all over again. I highly recommend making a trip to visit this little jewel of a restaurant. It is definitely top of my list now!
Comments