FGT BLT

As Ty and I were watching the Food Network the other night (yes, I have suckered him into this), we began to discuss my long-shot desire to own a truly innovative restaurant. The idea is to take simple, delicious home-cooked comfort foods and put a new spin on those dishes.

We have a lot of really great places to eat comfort food — Southfield Grill being my favorite — but is there really anything innovative about it?


So, the conversation inspired me to take a traditional recipe from Southern Living and mix in a dash of my own innovation. It wasn't too risky, but I decided to use the magazine's recipe for fried green tomatoes and amp it up for a delicious, hot BLT. The FGT BLT, if you will.

We made them last night and the FGT BLT was d-lish! After Ty ate two of the sandwiches, he said "See, this could be the first item on your menu." I thought it was such a sweet thing to say. Because whether or not the restaurant idea is realistic, he believes I could do it.

For now, we'll keep the innovation in my home kitchen. And I'll pass on the kick-starter recipe from the gods at Southern Living.

Fried Green Tomatoes

Ingredients:

• 4 large green tomatoes
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
• 1 cup plain white cornmeal
• 1 tablespoon Creole seasoning
• 2 cups all-purpose flour, divided
• Vegetable or peanut oil
• Bread and Butter Pickle Remoulade (scroll down for recipe)

Preparation:

1. Cut tomatoes into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Sprinkle both sides of tomatoes evenly with salt and pepper.

2. Pour buttermilk into a shallow dish or pie plate. Stir together cornmeal, Creole seasoning and 1 cup flour in another shallow dish or pie plate.

3. Dredge tomatoes in remaining 1 cup flour. Dip tomatoes in buttermilk, and dredge in cornmeal mixture.

4. Pour oil to a depth of 2 inches in a large cast-iron skillet; heat over medium heat to 350°. Fry tomatoes, in batches, 2 to 3 minutes on each side or until golden. Drain on paper towels. Sprinkle with salt to taste.

Bread-and-Butter Pickle Remoulade

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup Creole mustard
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped bread-and-butter pickles
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon hot sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon filé powder
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper

Once again, the sauce made this dish. It really brought together all the flavors — and makes a jazzy substitute for plain mayo.