tom hudgens

EGGPLANT CROSTINI WITH CORIANDER/
SQUASH BLOSSOM AND RICOTTA RAVIOLI WITH SUMMER TOMATO SAUCE/
FARRO AND ARUGULA SALAD WITH CHERRY TOMATOES AND PECORINO/
GRILLED FLANK STEAK WITH SWEET CORN, ROASTED PEPPERS, AND BASIL/
PLUM FOOL WITH NECTARINES, BLUEBERRIES, AND CARAMEL SAUCE/

The inaugural Creative Seasonal Cooking class is over! Let me tell you, it was hard to plan this final menu—there were still so many summer dishes I wanted to cover. Eggplant, peppers, corn salad, squash blossoms, tomato sauce, farro salad, fruit fool…I just had to make them all…and we did! That’s the mandate of seasonal cooking: to avail yourself to each seasonal offering before the season ends. Before long, it will be fall again; seasonal cooking urges us to make the very most of each moment, to “make hay while the sun shines.”
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CUCUMBER SALAD WITH RED ONIONS AND BASIL/
GARDEN TOMATO AND LETTUCE SALAD WITH BUTTERMILK RANCH DRESSING/
SPICY GRILLED PORK TENDERLOIN WITH SWEET CORN POLENTA AND PICKLED SOUR CHERRIES/
CORNMEAL-FRIED OKRA/
PLUM COBBLER WITH CINNAMON ICE CREAM/

California is justly famous for the extraordinary array of produce grown here, and for our many distinct ethnic communities. To be a California cook is to take inspiration not only from the excellent fruits and vegetables in our markets, but also from the various ethnic culinary traditions that thrive here—Mexican, Latin American, Italian, Greek, Indian, Middle Eastern, Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Thai, and many more. Each offers a wealth of inspiration to creative cooks, and any special ingredients required for authenticity are readily found in California's cities.

However, I find it endlessly satisfying to dig deep into my own Texas-Southern roots, too. Whether you view California’s various ethnic identities as a melting pot or a big tossed salad, I often love to add a little Southernness to the mix. Fresh old-fashioned garden produce, buttermilk, homemade pickled fruit, pork, cornmeal, okra, sweet homemade desserts, recipes from mothers and grandmothers—all these evoke Southern food for me, and they all appear in this delicious menu.
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SUMMER SQUASH CARPACCIO WITH PECORINO, ALMONDS, AND MINT
ROAST CHICKEN BREASTS MARINATED WITH HERBS, ALLSPICE, AND LEMON
-SWEET RED ONION RELISH
SUCCOTASH OF SWEET CORN AND FRESH SHELL BEANS WITH PESTO
GINGERSNAPS, VANILLA ICE CREAM, BOYSENBERRIES, AND GOLDEN PLUMS

Summer is ease and light…well, poetically, at least. These are the qualities we often crave in summer food--we prefer to cook relatively quick and easy dishes, and the heat can diminish our appetite. It was a hot Fourth of July weekend; I wanted to make a menu of dishes celebrating the holiday, utilizing the early summer bounty, and reflecting those poetic summer qualities of ease and lightness. Starting with a traditional Texas Fourth of July menu—barbecued chicken, corn on the cob, baked beans with chopped fresh onion, salad, and ice cream—and rearranging the elements, adding a few California embellishments, we come up with a beautiful, festive meal that is relatively easy and light, and, in its own way, just as comforting as the traditional one.
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