In a lot of her recipes, Tompkins uses classic African American ingredients including collards, sweet potatoes, and black-eyed peas. I prefer to demonstrate to others that they don’t have to be eaten the way I did, which was as sweet potato casserole or braised collard greens.
She developed a dinner for Labor Day that uses veggies in novel ways. Deviled eggs gain sweetness and a creamy texture from the addition of sweet potatoes. Collards give slaw a deep green hue. When making the chili that goes with grilled carrot hot dogs, black-eyed peas are used in place of kidney beans.
Aaliyah Man is credited.
Aaliyah Man is credited.
On Tuesdays, visit the Chow a la Cartes location in Uptown Atlanta to meet Tompkins. At that point, she takes on the role of pop-up chef and serves a changing menu featuring foods with influences from other cultures, such a jerk turkey smash burger.
RECIPES
Roots & Culture Craft Kitchen chef Michele Tompkins provides ideas for a Labor Day meal that emphasizes vegetables. Additionally, Tompkins suggested serving grilled or roasted asparagus, cob-grilled corn, brownies, or chocolate chip cookies as a way to add variety to the menu.
Aaliyah Man is credited.
Aaliyah Man is credited.
Sweet Potato Deviled Eggs with Candied Bacon Chips
Deviled eggs can be served cold by following the recipe to step 8 and then storing the egg white and filling halves separately in the refrigerator for up to two days. In order to facilitate the removal of any yolk that may adhere to the egg whites, Tompkins chills them in ice water. Before serving, fill the eggs and garnish.
- 1 large sweet potato (about 3/4 pound)
- 12 refrigerator-cold eggs
- 1/2 cup full-fat sour cream
- 3/4 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 3/4 teaspoon Frank s hot sauce, or to taste
- Heaping 1/4 teaspoon granulated garlic, plus more to taste
- Diamond Crystal kosher salt, to taste
- Ground black pepper, to taste
- Candied Bacon Chips, optional (see recipe)
equals 24.
Without bacon chips, per deviled egg, 1/2 teaspoon Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt, 3 grams of protein, 3 grams of carbs, 1 gram of total sugars, trace fiber, 3 grams of total fat (1 gram saturated), 95 milligrams of cholesterol, and 76 milligrams of sodium, there are 51 calories (53 percent fat calories).
Candied Bacon Chips
These chips can be made up to an hour in advance of serving. They will lose their crunch after an hour.
- 6 tablespoons light brown sugar, lightly packed
- 2 tablespoons jerk spice mix
- 6 slices thick-cut bacon (about 1/2 pound)
produces twenty-four chips.
51 calories (57 percent fat calories), 3 grams of protein, 2 grams of carbs, 2 grams of total sugars, no fiber, 3 grams of total fat (1 gram saturated), 9 milligrams of cholesterol, and 416 milligrams of sodium are included in each chip.
Aaliyah Man is credited.
Aaliyah Man is credited.
Loaded Carrot Hot Dogs
Choose carrots that are long and somewhat uniformly thick. Peel and cut them to the standard hot dog length of about 6 inches.
Remove the marinade’s fluid and add more red pepper flakes for more spiciness if you don’t have pickled jalapenos in your fridge.
- 8 carrots of even thickness, peeled and trimmed (see note)
- 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 cup low-sodium soy sauce
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons liquid smoke
- 2 teaspoons onion powder
- 2 teaspoons yellow mustard
- 2 teaspoons minced fresh garlic
- 2 teaspoons juice from jarred pickled jalapenos
- 1/8 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes
- Vegetable oil to oil grill grates
- Toasted potato or brioche hot dog buns, Cabbage Collard Green Slaw, Black Eyed Pea Chili and Pickled Red Onion (see recipes), for serving
produces eight.
607 mg of sodium, 2 grams of protein, 15 grams of carbs, 9 grams of total sugars, 2 grams of fiber, trace total fat (trace saturated fat), no cholesterol, and 70 calories (percent of calories from fat) per hot dog without bread, slaw, chili, or pickled onion.
Cabbage Collard Green Slaw
- 2 1/2 cups thinly sliced green cabbage
- 1 cup thinly sliced collard greens
- 3/4 cup thinly sliced red onion
- 1/4 cup matchstick-cut carrots
- 1/4 cup canola oil
- Juice of one lime
- Diamond Crystal kosher salt, to taste
- Ground black pepper, to taste
4 1/4 cups are produced.
One gram of protein, three grams of carbs, one gram of total sugars, one gram of fiber, seven grams of total fat (one gram saturated), no cholesterol, 78 milligrams of sodium, and 79 calories (percent of calories from fat, 80) per half cup with half a teaspoon of salt.
Black-Eyed Pea Chili
Tompkins starts with fresh black-eyed peas while making this chili for her customers. For convenience, readers might choose canned black-eyed peas, she noted.
- 1 (15.5-ounce) can black-eyed peas, drained
- 1 (14.5-ounce) can roasted diced tomatoes with liquid
- 1/2 cup 1/8-inch diced white onion
- 1/4 cup 1/8-inch diced poblano pepper
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 1/2 teaspoon chile powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ancho chile powder
- Diamond Crystal kosher salt, to taste
- Ground black pepper, to taste
yields four cups.
65 calories (14 percent of calories from fat), 3 grams of protein, 11 grams of carbs, 2 grams of total sugars, 3 grams of fiber, 1 gram of total fat (trace saturated fat), no cholesterol, and 266 milligrams of sodium are found in half a cup without extra salt.
Pickled Red Onions
- 1 1/4 cups apple cider vinegar
- 3 1/2 tablespoons light brown sugar, lightly packed
- 1 tablespoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme
- 3 black peppercorns
- 1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 large red onion (about 3/4 pound), thinly sliced
1 1/2 cups of pickled onions are produced.
Per 1/4 cup: 429 mg sodium, 10 g carbs, 8 g total sugars, 1 g fiber, 42 kcal (percent of calories from fat), trace protein, trace total fat (trace saturated fat), and no cholesterol.
Aaliyah Man is credited.
Aaliyah Man is credited.
Two Bean Baked Beans
Tompkins makes her own barbecue sauce and cooks dried beans for her customers’ baked beans. Readers can use a sweet, smoky bottled barbecue sauce and canned beans to speed up preparation.
- 3 cups sweet barbecue sauce, such as Sweet Baby Ray s
- 1 (15.5-ounce) can great northern beans, drained
- 1 (15.5-ounce) can black beans, drained
- 1/2 cup low-sodium ketchup
- 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons light brown sugar, lightly packed, divided
- 1/2 cup 1/8-inch diced yellow onion
- 1/4 cup 1/8-inch diced green bell pepper
- 1/4 cup 1/8-inch diced red bell pepper
- 1 tablespoon bourbon
- 1 teaspoon liquid smoke
- 1 teaspoon yellow mustard
yields six cups.
Five grams of protein, fifty-one grams of carbs, thirty-three grams of total sugars, four grams of fiber, one gram of total fat (trace saturated fat), seven hundred and seventy-one milligrams of sodium, and 229 calories (percent of calories from fat, three) per half cup.
