If you happened to be watching ABC's "Good Morning America" on Friday, you may have seen an Alabama face and heard an Alabama voice.
It was Kelsey Bernard Clark, 2019 winner of Bravo's "Top Chef" and owner of Dothans's KBC restaurant on Foster Street.
She, along with fellow celebrity chef Geoffrey Zakarian, cooked up gameday treats to eat during Sunday's Super Bowl.
This year's Super Bowl is in New Orleans, so how is this for a New Orleans-style munchie: Fried shrimp po-boy nachos?
Here is how this Alabama chef made the New Orleans dish: Fried shrimp piled onto baked French bread and topped with lettuce, Slocomb (Alabama) tomato, remoulade sauce, Cajun spices and lemon juice.
Ingredients
1 1/2 pounds raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 loaf French bread, sliced into 1/8-inch crostini, toasted with olive oil salt and pepper
1 cup chopped tomatoes
1 cup chopped green onions
1 cup chopped parsley leaves
1/2 cup chopped cilantro leaves
1/2 head iceberg lettuce, shredded very thin
1 lemon, cut in wedges
Marinade
3 cups buttermilk
1/2 cup dill or kosher pickle juice
6-8 dashes hot sauce (I like Crystal or Tabasco)
Dredge
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cups fine ground cornmeal
1/4 cup cornstarch
2 tablespoons Cajun seasoning (Old Bay preferably)
1 tablespoon Tajin seasoning + more for finishing
4 cups canola oil for frying
Remoulade
2 cloves garlic
1/4 cup chopped yellow onion
1/4 cup chopped celery
1 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
6-8 dashes hot sauce
1/4 teaspoon horseradish
2 tablespoons fresh parsley
1 tablespoon salt
2 tablespoons ground black pepper
1/2 cup buttermilk
Directions"
Place seafood in buttermilk, pickle juice and hot sauce for at least 1 hour or up to overnight.
Heat a fryer or a deep pot halfway filled with oil to 350 F.
In a medium sized bowl, stir together dredge mix until combined.
Dredge the seafood as follows: Using your left hand, remove seafood one piece at a time from buttermilk brine, shaking lightly to ensure all excess liquid has fallen off. With your right hand, place seafood in dry mix, pressing lightly and turning to be sure fish is completely coated. Shake seafood lightly, letting excess flour fall off, and place on a plate to the side. Repeat until all shrimp is dredged.
Deep fry for approximately 2-3 minutes until golden brown and crispy. Place on a tray with a rack or paper towels to absorb excess grease. Sprinkle with salt.
For remoulade sauce: Combine all ingredients in a food processor and puree until completely smooth. Taste and season with salt.
To assemble: Place crostini on a tray, then top with shrimp, lettuce, tomatoes, then drizzle all over with remoulade. Top with herbs and squeeze lemon over just before serving.
Wonder if Mrs. Clark's restaurant in Dothan will start carrying fried shrimp po-boy nachos? After all, she and the dish got a huge amount of free publicity.
Clark studied at the Culinary Institute of America and has cooked the Café' Boulud and Dovetail. She returned to Dothan in 2012, opening a catering business and then KBC Restaurant (which is her initials, if you haven't noticed.)
In 2019, she won the "Top Chef" title on Bravo. She has written two cookbooks, "Southern Grit" and "Southern Get Togethers."
Jim' Zig' Zeigler writes about Alabama's people, places, events, groups and prominent deaths. He is a former Alabama Public Service Commissioner and State Auditor. You can reach him for comments at ZeiglerElderCare@yahoo.com.
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