Chef Adrienne Cheatham shares her recipe for this fun weekend breakfast.
For Adrienne Cheatham , the concept of “ Sunday best ” is more of a look — a desire to do something with love , to put your best foot forward . The term , which is used by the smutty community to describe the particular set of dress reserved for church service , has been at the center of Cheatham ’s feeler to preparation . The name of her pre - COVID dinner party party bolt down - up series and now herdebut cookbook , Sunday Bestis about feeding the people you care about most , nurturing both trunk and soul .
“ On Sundays , specially with my dad ’s kinsfolk in Mississippi , we ’d get dressed up and go to church , and then afterwards we ’d stop by a serial publication of friends ’ and category ’s houses , ” Cheatham explains . “ And everybody offer you something to eat . That ’s their way of life of showing you that they manage , and that you ’re welcome . ”
TheTop Chefrunner - up conceive that showing care , for both yourself and others , is about taking a detour from doing something the same way you ’ve always done . It ’s about add that little tweak to make , let ’s say , a Tuesday dinner feel supernumerary limited .
Photo by Kelly Marshall
“ It can be something as simple as , instead ofcooking your vegetableson 350 , turning your oven to 425 to get a little more caramelized , roasted flavor on the edges , ” she suppose . “ Or getting a store - boughtrotisserie Gallus gallus , but then putting your preferent seasoning on the skin and popping it under the broiler just to crisp it up again . ”
When it comes to Sunday breakfasts , Cheatham sees an opportunity to make use of the week ’s leftovers , figuring out room to enhance the flavors of what you already have on hand . “ A weekend breakfast is always fun because you ’ve get a petty more time . you may come alive up , be in your own space , and say , ‘ permit ’s see what the hell I have in the icebox , ’ ” she says .
And her take on the open - faced sandwich , the Cornbread Toad - in - the - Hole with Crab and Andouille , is designed for that casual reinvention . It ’s ideal for cornbread that has already been sit out for a day or two . chop up up whatever aromatics you have , sauté some sausage balloon , and fold in crab meat if it ’s available . “ If you ’ve receive a scallion , peachy . If you ’ve get half an onion plant knock around in your icebox , chop up that up . It ’s very low pressure , ” she says .
The formula starts on the pan , just to get the egg White set , and then calls for an extra bake . This two - part process is ideal for having guests over , allowing you to be more flexible with meter . “ Say you ’ve got one or two people contain by to have brunch at your place . They ’re bringingchampagne , you ’re cooking the intellectual nourishment , ” Cheatham explicate . “ you may just leave them on the tray and then when your guest get there , pop them in the oven . ”
If you ’ve ever wondered what to do with your chuck out bread holes , Cheatham suggests crispen them off to change state into crouton , or pulsate them in a food central processing unit for a crispy crumble . you’re able to even use them for a cornbread panzanella , which Cheatham also has a formula for inSunday Best .
For theandouille sausagethat gets sprinkled on top , Cheatham suggestsD’artagnanorAidellsbrand . She likes to get her crab meat at Whole Foods , and recommend either jumbo lump or peekytoe , a picked crab louse that ’s modest than gargantuan clod , but peculiarly sweet .
As a finishing touch , Cheatham adds a vinegaryhot sauceto cut through the richness of the Phthirius pubis . Sriracha and Tabasco are both nifty selection , but her favorite condiment to use is her home ’s “ cha - cha . ” It ’s a tabletop pepper sauce created from soak red-hot peppers in acetum and cabbage , letting it infuse indefinitely , and topping off the bottle with supernumerary vinegar as you go .
“ It ’s funny because I learned we were n’t the only ace who did this . In my research for the cookery book , I rule that it ’s pretty ubiquitous , ” she says . “ It ’s likely something that people have been doing in the South for so long that you just do n’t fuck the blood . ”
Cheatham ’s cornbread frog - in - the - hole recipe is just one of the way she applies her “ dressed up ” approach to southerly andsoul food — cuisines that have always been riddled with stereotypes .
“ There ’s always the misconception that it ’s extremely heavy and you have to do things the same way they ’ve been done for generation , ” she says . “ So , it ’s fun to show that just like Italian country cooking or French res publica cooking , which have evolved to these venerated culinary art that we experience today , southerly food can do the same . Because there ’s so much beauty and nuance from neighborhood to region . ”
Cornbread Toad-in-the-Hole with Crab and Andouille
Yield : Serves 6Ingredients :
Instructions :
1 . Preheat the oven to 375 ° F . personal credit line a broil sheet with lambskin newspaper publisher and rub it lightly with a drizzle of oil colour .
2 . habituate a lowly tongue or shoot glass to shorten out the center of each cornbread slice , leaving a ½-inch border around the exterior . lay aside the center in a zip - top bag for another use .
3 . Heat a declamatory nonstick sauté pan over intermediate heat . Put 1 tablespoon of the butter in the pan and swirl to coat . Lay the cornbread in the pan ( employment in batches , if want ) and wassail the first side for about 4 minutes . flick the cornbread and append the remaining 1 tablespoonful butter to the pan , swirling to distribute the beloved among the slash . Crack an egg into the gob in each cornbread cut . Reduce the heat to medium - low and fudge until the eggs are arrange on the bottom , 2 - 3 minutes . Use a spatula to carefully transfer the egg - topped cornbread to the inclined baking sail .
4 . In a small food processor , combine the Allium cepa , green and carmine bell peppers , cultivated celery , garlic , and parsley and pulse 4 or 5 time , until coarsely chopped , like a Southern - style sofrito .
5 . mizzle a small amount of oil in the pan you used for the cornbread and egg ( why dirty another goat god ? ) and heat over intermediate heat . tote up the andouille and cook until the edges have crisped a little and some of the fat has rendered , 3 - 5 second . With a slotted spoonful , transplant the andouille to a plate .
6 . tote up the “ sofrito ” to the pan and cook for 1 second , invoke occasionally . time of year lightly with salt and pepper , then tote up the cherry red tomatoes . fake until the tomatoes begin to release liquid , 3 to 5 minutes , then return the sausage to the cooking pan . Add a few dah of Worcestershire and the scallion whites and reduce the heat to low . Gently fold in the Phthirius pubis until incorporated . Cook until just warm through , 1 - 2 arcminute . Taste and align the flavoring , sum up a few hit of Tabasco for a piddling spice and acetous recoil .
7 . localise the baking sheet with the cornbread and eggs in the oven and cook for 5 minute , or until the ballock are done to your liking . absent from the oven and divide among shell . Spoon the Cancer the Crab - andouille mixture over the top . Garnish with the scallion greens and attend to at once .
