The Process

Over Labor Day weekend, I cooked each evening—probably more on that coming later—but this series of pictures from the last night sums it up. I took the first one as I was just starting on our third big meal and Kara took the next two snaps. One is a nice shot of food in progress and the other is how pretty much all my cooking endeavors end.

Smoked Turkey Breast

Barbecue sauce

Low Country Hoppin’ John

Skillet Cornbread

Green Beans and Asparagus

I brined the turkey with my new favorite go-to brine: 1 to 1 to 1: one gallon water, one cup kosher salt, one cup brown sugar, an hour per pound. Elaborate brining recipes are not worth the trouble or expense in my experience, and I’ve tried many. But I DO like to brine. I smoked the bird for about 4 hours on the Big Green Egg hovering around 250º with lump charcoal and a bunch of mesquite wood chips.

One of my favorite homemade barbecue sauces is Memphis style from the Neelys. Tart and tangy. Don’t worry, Texas, I do your spicy style too.

I’ve written about it before, but Hoppin’ John is basically a rice dish with peas. You can make it simple, which is not very good, or you can put some love into it with the right ingredients and make it a standout. I use Sean Brock’s recipe from Heritage and in this case I used purple hull peas from summer roadside stands along Southern interstate highways and a couple of New Mexico Hatch chiles from the end of the season.

One of my favorite techniques for green beans—and in this case, asparagus, too—is essentially sautéing in a bit of hot olive oil until just starting to blister, then splash a few tablespoons of water in and cover for a few minutes. Season with minced garlic, salt and pepper, and throw in a pat of butter for perfect crisp-tender veggies.

Finally, let the food digest as you fall asleep on the couch in an embarrassing and weird but somehow comfortable position with a Labrador retriever by your side, if not on top of you. Be sure to wear your old clothes reserved for cooking and painting only.