fried green tomatoes - grace grits and gardening

Hey y’all. This is a true story. While I was slaving away at Dairy Hollow making edits to the book I WILL finish, my husband was hobnobbing with the one and only Paula Deen. (How adorable is she?!) Yes, John was on a business trip, and yes, he was invited to the grand opening of Paula Deen’s Family Kitchen, her newest restaurant located at the Island in Pigeon Forge. That’s in Tennessee.

She served him fried green tomatoes. I’ve been training John to take pictures of his food. Ahem, I believe there’s only one tomato left on this plate.

What’s left of Grandmama Paul’s Fried Green Tomatoes…

And that last tomato? It went into co-worker Roddy’s mouth.

He did better with this picture. If I know John, he ordered double collards.

I’m not gonna lie, I was a little (a lot) jealous to miss this opportunity (not that I was actually invited, but I don’t know why a blogger wouldn’t be invited to document every business trip).

John returned bearing gifts—an autographed Hey Y’all t-shirt and apron!

I plan to be at Paula Deen’s next grand opening, if I have to stow away. Fair warning, y’all.

(And not that I need one, but I love an excuse to say y’all.)

Grace Grits and Gardening

Farm. Food. Garden. Life.

[tweetthis]That time my husband hung out with @Paula_Deen and all I got was an apron. #PaulaDeensFamilyKitchen @My_PigeonForge[/tweetthis]

P.S. I’m not sure if this clip is the exact fried green tomato recipe served at Paula Deen’s Family Kitchen, but it sounds and looks delicious.

And Paula, I can make fried green tomatoes too:)) Shameless plug, I know.

Fried Green Tomato Recipe

Musical Pairing:

Zac Brown Band & Jimmy Buffett, Chicken Fried

The fried green tomato recipe did not originate in the South. Crazy, huh? We all know necessity is the mother of invention, and if you think about it, this makes sense. Down south while we leisurely enjoyed juicy red tomato sandwiches with no thought of winter, our northern friends were in an all out panic trying to use unripe tomatoes before the first freeze.

They outdid themselves.

But let’s be real. Southerners embraced the fried green tomato. And now we claim it as our own.

Since I was planning to be out of town when my tomatoes ripened, I fried a couple of green ones. After reading several recipes on the Food Network and Allrecipes, I came up with this version. The best I’ve ever eaten! You’re gonna want to try this today.

Fried Green Tomatoes.

Print Recipe

Ingredients Method

Ingredients

Oil
2 medium sized green tomatoes cut into 1/4-inch slices
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
6 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 tablespoon garlic powder
2 eggs
1 tablespoons buttermilk
3/4 cups Italian-seasoned bread crumbs
Pinch cayenne pepper
Parmesan Reggianno
Chopped Green Onions

Method

Pour oil in skillet and warm to medium heat. (About a half inch of oil.)
Lightly salt and pepper both sides of tomatoes.
Mix flour and garlic powder in a shallow dish.
In another shallow dish, beat eggs with buttermilk.
In a third dish, combine bread crumbs with cayenne.
Dredge tomatoes through the flour, then the eggs, and then the bread crumbs.
When oil is hot, add a few pieces at a time. Don't crowd them. Cook about 2-3 minutes. Drain on paper towels. Sprinkle with Parmesan and chopped green onions (optional).
Serve with your favorite dipping sauce, but they don't really need anything else...