After having to eat some deep fried humble pie with yesterday’s johnnycake debacle, I decided to stay in the south and attempt to redeem myself with some fried green tomatoes from page 196; lest my Floridian neighbors come after me with torches and pitchforks and run me out of the state all the way back up to New Jersey!
Green tomatoes are easier to get in the south. Back when I lived up north, Fried Green Tomatoes was the name of a book that was turned into an awesome movie starring Kathy Bates, not something you ate, because it’s hard to find a green tomato in New York and New Jersey, even in specialty shops. In Florida, green tomatoes are common, so I could finally find out why Fanny Flagg waxed poetic about them in her book, Fried Green Tomatoes At The Whistle Stop Cafe.
They really are a uniquely southern delicacy! Tart and crunchy with just a touch of spicy bite from the cayenne pepper in Martha’s recipe. I made them the centerpiece of a salad with avocados, chèvre, toasted walnuts, a few fresh mint leaves and honey mustard dressing. It’s a delectable salad, with just the right mouthfeel of crispy and creamy, and the mint adds a nice, cooling touch to offset the spiciness.
Tomorrow I’m attempting Key Lime Pie. According to Martha’s book, this is The Official State Pie of Florida! So if I mess it up, I bring shame not only to The House Of Martha, but to the entire state of Florida!!! Failure in this mission is simply not an option.
