Southern Plate Strikes Again!, Recipe Southern Plate Strikes Again!

Posted the 12/10/2008 20:30:00 By Fun Foods On a Budget! (Visit website)

Today I'm going to feature two delicious recipes from one of my favorite blogs - Southern Plate! Seriously, check out this blog, because not only are all the recipes fantastic, but Christy is the friendliest and cheerfullest blogger I've ever read! Every recipe I've tried from her website has turned out wonderful, and these two are no exception.

First we have the Southern classic - Fried Green Tomatoes. I first learned about fried green tomatoes a couple years ago when I saw a movie by that name. I loved the movie, and was intrigued by the concept of the dish. So Jeff and I looked up recipes for fried green tomatoes and have loved them ever since. Our first experience with FGT was frying them batter-dipped, just like fried chicken. Christy's recipe uses a cornmeal coating, and is much crunchier. I like it both ways!

Fried Green Tomatoes
Green tomatoes, thickly sliced
Corn meal, about 1 1/2 cups
Flour, about 4 tbsp.
Season All (or seasoned salt), about 2 tbsp.
Milk

Combine corn meal, flour, and season all. Dip thick tomato slices in milk, then in corn meal mixture. Press down to coat both sides well. Fry in hot oil. Christy uses lots of oil - looks like about 1/2 inch of oil. Jeff and I prefer to just use a little bit, only a thin coating on the bottom of the pan that we replenish after each batch. Either way - fry those babies until they're golden brown and crispy on each side. Drain on paper towels and eat!

Frugal bonus - since green tomatoes are something that you usually get in abundance from your garden, they are a very frugal food, in addition to being really tasty!

Next up is this delicious autumn recipe - Apple Orchard Snack Cake. This cake is definitely unique - it uses graham cracker crumbs instead of flour! The result is a moist and flavorful cake with a delicious chunks of apple. I used my homemade graham crackers for that extra really-from-scratch touch!

Apple Orchard Snack Cake
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
2 to 3 apples, peeled and diced
1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted
2 cups graham cracker crumbs
3/4 cup chopped walnuts (optional, I didn't add these)

Blend sugar, margarine, and eggs in bowl with a spoon. Stir in graham cracker crumbs, apples, and walnuts until blended. Spread batter into greased 8x8 pan. Bake at 35 for forty to forty five minutes or until firm to the touch. Sprinkle liberally with confectioner's sugar. Cool and then cut into squares.