Yellow Squash and Onions

I had these in North Carolina when I was there this spring.  It seemed like a fitting way to use the yellow squash that has been building up and to accompany a Southern entree. 

Serves 3

1/2 tablespoon butter
1/2 tablespoon olive oil
1 slice onion, cut into bite-sized pieces
2 small yellow squash, cut into coins
Dash garlic salt
Dash salt
Dash ground black pepper

1. In skillet, heat butter and olive oil over medium heat. Add onion and squash and saute until edges are brown and vegetables are soft.  Season with garlic salt, salt, and pepper.  Serve hot.

Chicken and Dumplings

This recipe was developed last year, when we decided that chicken and dumplings were pretty Southern.  I think it is one of the few recipes that I invented that has not changed since I started making it. To me, it is perfect just as it is.

Serves 3-4

1 onion, quartered
2 carrots, quartered (or about 15-20 baby carrots)
1 stalk celery, cut in half
2 cloves garlic, cut in half
2 slices of lemon
3 lbs chicken thighs with bones and skin, skin removed
2 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 cup water
1 bay leaf
2 sprigs fresh thyme
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
Salt and ground black pepper to taste
Extra water as needed

2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
Dash ground black pepper
3 tablespoons shortening
1/4-1/2 cup cold water
Extra flour, for rolling

1. Place onion, garlic, celery, carrots, lemon, and chicken thighs in large stock pot.  They can be stacked.  Pour chicken broth and water over top.  Add thyme, garlic salt, and bay leaf.  Stir to distribute, cover, and heat to a simmer.  Simmer on low heat for at least an hour or until chicken is tender.
2. Remove vegetables, bay leaf, thyme, and chicken from pot. Discard vegetables and herbs.  Allow chicken to cool while you prepare the dumplings.
3. In bowl, combine flour and seasonings.  Cut in shortening until mixture resembles crumbs and a a handful clumps when you squeeze it.  Stir in water until it forms a dough.  On floured surface, knead dough until smooth.  Roll dough out into an oblong rectangle that is about 1/8 inch thick.  Using a knife or a pizza cutter, cut dough into 1-inch wide strips.
4. Return broth to a simmer, if it isn't still. If broth looks lower than 1-2 cups, add a cup of water and bring broth to simmer.  Tear strips of dough into pieces and drop into simmering broth.  Simmer dumplings for 10 minutes, uncovered, while you shred the chicken and drop it into the broth over the dumplings.  After 10 minutes of uncovered simmering, cover the stockpot and simmer for 10 minutes more.  Serve immediately.

Vanilla Custard with Bourbon Caramel Sauce

I'm not a huge fan of custard.  Mostly I think it tastes like eggs and I'm also not a huge fan of eggs, so I suppose it isn't surprising.  So when we were running out of ideas for Southern desserts and custard was suggested, I figured I should make it as flavorful as possible.  I also have vanilla beans that I have been meaning to use for a while now, so it seemed like a good time.  Creamy custard, sweet sauce, lots of layers of flavor.  Even I like this custard.

Makes 6 custard cups

2 cups milk
1 vanilla bean pod (use the seeds for something else)
Pinch nutmeg
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon bourbon
4 egg yolks
1 whole egg
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 cups hot water

1. Pour milk into small saucepan.  Add vanilla bean pod and nutmeg.  Set aside.
2. Butter 6 custard cups.  Place cups in large glass pan, spacing so that they barely touch.
3. In small skillet, pour 1/2 cup sugar in even layer.  Place skillet over low heat and stir until sugar caramelizes.  Sugar will crystallize and turn tan, then the crystals will dissolve into deep brown liquid.  Stir in bourbon and mix well. Divide syrup evenly between the 6 custard cups.
4. In heatproof bowl, beat yolks and egg.  Add 1/3 cup sugar and salt.Whisk until frothy.  Set bowl aside, but close at hand.
5. Place small saucepan of milk on medium heat.  Stirring constantly, scald milk.  You should see a film on top of milk and tiny bubbles appearing around the edge of the milk when it is ready.  Remove vanilla bean pod.  Whisking with one hand and pouring with the other, stir milk into egg/sugar mixture all at once.  Stir until smooth.  Divide custard evenly between custard cups, pouring over caramel.  Pour hot water in pan around custard cups, stopping once water is about an inch up the side of the cups.
6. Bake custard in water bath for 30-35 minutes or until it thickly coats a knife inserted into the center.  Cool in water bath and chill before serving.  Invert on small plate to serve.  Some caramel may stick to bottom of cup.

Red Beans and Rice

I made red beans and rice last year and wasn't real impressed.  The recipe I made took a really long time and didn't really taste good enough to justify the work.   We had a lot of flooding in my town this week and were on severely restricted water usage, so my main goal with this meal was to make something filling with as little water and as few dishes as possible.  It was a real bonus that it also tasted fantastic.

Serves 4

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1 small onion, diced
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced
2 cloves garlic, diced
1 ring link smoked sausage, chopped (I used turkey)
14 oz can diced tomatoes
14 oz can chili beans
1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning
Rice, for serving

1. In medium saucepan, heat oil and butter over medium heat.  Add onion, pepper, and garlic and saute until bright.  Stir in sausage and heat until fragrant. Add tomatoes and beans.  Stir well and add seasoning.  Heat to a simmer and reduce heat to low.  Simmer steadily for 45 minutes or until thick.  Serve over rice.

Green Beans with Bacon

I was looking for a new way to make green beans; some way that would make them taste like more than just green beans.  Not that I dislike green beans, but it's prime season for them where I live now and I have had them just steamed a lot of late.  The combination of flavors here worked out well.

Serves 2-3

2 slices bacon, cut into small pieces
1/2 lb green beans
2 tablespoons water
Salt and ground black pepper to taste

1. Clean green beans, remove stems, and break into bite-sized pieces.
2. In skillet with lid, brown bacon pieces over medium high heat.  Stir bacon to ensure that they brown evenly.  Remove bacon pieces from skillet and dump off excess grease.
3. Add green beans to skillet with bacon leavings.  Cook and stir green beans in skillet over medium high heat until bright, about 1 minute.  Reduce heat to low, pour water into skillet, and cover skillet with lid.  Let beans simmer for 5 minutes or until no longer crunchy.
4. Season green beans with salt and pepper to taste.  Remove from skillet to a serving bowl.  Top with cooked bacon pieces and stir before serving.

Cornmeal Biscuits

One of the first foods I remember learning how to bake is biscuits.  I remember helping my grandmother make them all the time, though have no idea how old I was at the time.  Probably really young.  I added cornmeal to my recipe a while ago, mostly to add interest to the texture.  I like the way it makes the biscuits raise and the color it gives them, as well as the texture.

Makes 12 biscuits

2 cups flour, plus more for kneading and rolling
1/2 cup cornmeal (I use yellow)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 tablespoons baking powder
3 tablespoons cold butter, cut in pieces
3/4-1 cup buttermilk

1. In mixing bowl combine flour, cornmeal, salt, and baking powder.  Stir with a fork to combine.  Scatter butter pieces over flour mixture in bowl.  With pastry blender or fingers, cut butter into flour mixture until mixture resembles course crumbs.
2. Note that, at this point, the biscuit "dough" can be placed in the refrigerator until ready to use.  To do this, place bowl in refrigerator.  Remove bowl to counter and stir before adding the buttermilk.
3. Push flour butter-mixture up onto the sides of your bowl with the fork, making a well in the center of the bowl.  Beginning with 1/2 cup buttermilk, add to the well in the center of your bowl.  Stir until buttermilk is absorbed.  Add more buttermilk as needed to make all the flour mixture create a soft dough.
4. Turn dough onto a floured surface.  Knead a few times with your hands until dough is no longer sticky, being careful not to overhandle the dough.  Pat dough out until it is between 1/2 and 3/4 inch thick.  Cut dough with a metal biscuit cutter for the cleanest cut (though I have used the top of a glass successfully, it just depends on what you have in your kitchen).
5. Place cut biscuits on an ungreased cookie sheet.  Ideally, biscuits bake in a 400 degree oven for 10-20 minutes or until the tops are brown and they are puffed.  However, I have been known to bake them at whatever temperature the rest of dinner cooks at, within reason (between 350 degrees and 425 degrees).  Lower temperatures will take longer than the time stated here.  Serve hot.  Can be stored in sealed container or bag for up to three days.

Pan-Fried Chicken

In my house growing up, fried chicken like this was about a twice-a-year occasion.  Somehow that holds true in my house now as well.  Even though it isn't hard to make, I somehow don't think to make it all that often.  To me, it is the perfect fried chicken.

Serves 4

4 lbs chicken pieces, skin-on and bone-in (I used breasts and drumsticks, but it's a matter of preference)
3/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
3-4 tablespoons oil

1. In gallon plastic bag mix flour, salt, and pepper.  Shake to mix.
2. In large skillet or electric skillet with lid, heat oil.  You should only put in enough oil to thinly coat the bottom of the skillet.
3. Place a few pieces of chicken in flour bag and shake to coat.  Once they are coated evenly, place chicken pieces in hot oil.  Continue to shake chicken pieces in flour mixture and placing in hot oil until chicken pieces are all in skillet, each with good contact with the bottom of the skillet.  Do not flip chicken. 
4. Cook chicken on first side, uncovered, for 15 minutes.  Cover skillet and cook for 15 minutes more. Flip chicken pieces over, bringing browned side up to the top.  Cover skillet and cook for 15 minutes.  Uncover and cook for a final 15 minutes.  Remove chicken from skillet and place on platter lined with paper towels.  Serve hot.

Limeade

When it's hot outside, I like to have something non-carbonated to drink on hand. I like lemonade, but lemons were hard to come by in my town this week.  This limeade is just as refreshing as lemonade is, but something nicely different.   I consider it Southern, though I'm not certain how accurate that is; I think my logic is that citrus fruits grow in the South.  Made as written here, it will have a nice pucker to it.  If you like your limeade a little sweeter, you might want to add an extra tablespoon or so of sugar.  (A note on the heatproof pitcher used in this recipe: I love to use my Fiestaware pitcher for recipes like this.  It is can handle hot and cold liquids, looks nice on the table, pours well, and is dishwasher safe.  The color also looks great with my dishes, but they have quite the variety of colors. You can see it here:Fiesta 67-1/4-Ounce Large Disk Pitcher, Cobalt)

Makes 8 cups

2 1/2 cups water
1 1/4 cup sugar
11-12 limes
4 cups cold water

1. In medium heatproof bowl, combine 2 1/2 cups water and sugar.  Heat in microwave on high for 2 minutes, then remove and stir.  If sugar does not dissolve completely after about 30 seconds of stirring, microwave for another 15 seconds or until sugar is dissolved.  Pour into heatproof pitcher and let cool for 15-20 minutes.
2. While sugar water is cooling, juice limes.  Empty juicer into a measuring cup, juicing limes until you have 1 3/8 cups fresh juice.  Do not be concerned with any seeds that the juicer might unearth.
3. Pour lime juice into sugar water through a fine strainer.  The strainer will remove all the lime seeds and most of the pulp, which will make the flavor of the limeade more consistent.  Discard seeds and pulp in strainer. 
4. Stir lime juice into sugar water in pitcher.  Pour the 4 cups cold water into lime/sugar water mixture and stir well.
5. Refrigerate limeade for 2-4 hours or until cold.  Limeade can be store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Peach Cobbler

Peaches grow fairly close to here (though south of here, since peach trees die in our winters), so during peach season we can get some pretty good peaches.  I like to make peach baked goods, but they are usually met with a lukewarm reception in my house.  I decided to make peach cobbler anyway and actually, it seemed to be unanimously enjoyed. So even people who don't like peaches apparently will eat this cobbler.  If you have never peeled peaches, there is an easy way that I learned as a child.  Dropping the whole peaches into boiling water for 1 minute, then removing and cooling allows the peels to slide off easily.  It works best with peaches that are a little firm, which these were.

Serves 6

1 cup flour
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
3 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup buttermilk
1 egg
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/4 cup water
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
Dash ground cloves
5 peaches, peeled, pitted and sliced (about 4 cups)
Vanilla ice cream or Cool Whip, optional, for serving

1. In mixing bowl mix together flour, 2 tablespoons sugar, baking powder, and cinnamon.  Cut in butter with a pastry blender or rub between fingers until mixture resembles course crumbs.  Set aside.
2. In measuring cup, combine buttermilk and egg.  Beat until combined.  Set aside.
3. In medium saucepan, combine 1/2 cup sugar and cornstarch.  Mix in water, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves.  Place peaches in saucepan with sugar mixture and toss to coat.  Place saucepan over medium high heat.  Stir and cook until thickened and bubbly.  Pour peach mixture into greased 2 quart casserole and set aside.
4. Pour buttermilk egg mixture into flour mixture in mixing bowl.  Stir until combined.  Drop spoonfuls of batter over hot fruit filling in casserole.
5. Bake cobbler at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes.  The cobbler is done when topping is browned, filling is bubbly, and a toothpick inserted into the center of the topping comes out clean.
6. Cobbler can be served warm or cold.  It is good alone, with Cool Whip, or with vanilla ice cream.  Cobbler can be stored in refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Creamy Coleslaw

This coleslaw is good on it's own, but it's especially good with the shredded pork loin recipe that is listed here.  The recipe makes a coleslaw that is creamy and a little bit sweet, which is a good pairing with the spicy bitter shredded pork.  I had coleslaw like this in North Carolina visiting my friend and this recipe is close to what I had.

Serves 8-10

16 oz bag coleslaw mix (I just used a purple cabbage from the CSA, shredded)
2 tablespoon minced onion
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
Dash ground black pepper
1/2 cup mayo
1/4 cup buttermilk
2 tablespoons vinegar
2 tablespoons lemon juice

1. Mix cabbage, carrots, onion, and salt.  Pour into strainer and let sit for 1-2 hours.  Discard liquids.
2. Mix remaining ingredients in the bottom of a bowl.
3. Toss with drained cabbage, carrots, and onion.  Refrigerate at least one hour before serving.
4. Serve with Eastern Carolina Pork either as a main dish or as a sandwich.

Eastern Carolina Shredded Pork Loin

http://fanaticalbaker.blogspot.com/2010/07/creamy-coleslaw.htmlMy best friend from college moved to North Carolina a few years ago.  On my first visit out there, she took me to a restaurant where I was introduced to this fantastic shredded pork that was spicy, sour, sweet, and bitter at the same time.  It came with a cold creamy coleslaw that was just a little sweet, which balanced it all perfectly. After I got back, I was obsessed with learning how to make it.  After analyzing recipes as many recipes as I could find, I combined a lot of them into one and I think I hit the nail on the head.  The especially great part is that it's made in the crockpot, which to me makes it the perfect summer meal.

Serves 8-10

Sauce:
1/2 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1 T brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1. Mix together sauce ingredients and let stand in refrigerator overnight or up to 2 days.  Sauce is runny.

Pork:
3 lb pork loin
3 cloves garlic, chopped
Salt and ground black pepper to taste

1. Place in crockpot and cook on low for 6-8 hours.
2. Shred meat and return to crockpot.  Add sauce to taste (I use the entire sauce recipe for this much meat) and cook one more hour.  You will notice that the vinegar scent of the meat will decrease as it cooks.  Serve with coleslaw alone or as sandwiches.

Banana Pudding

I have never been a huge fan of pudding.  As a kid I really like making the boxes of instant pudding and watching it thicken as if by magic, but I didn't really like eating it and I still don't.  It never seemed as smooth or as flavorful as it should be.  The thought of making homemade pudding didn't really occur to me until about 2 years ago and since then it's the only pudding I eat.  Call me a snob.

Serves 4-6


60 Nilla wafers
3 ripe bananas, sliced thin
4 egg yolks
3/4 cup sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
3 cups cold milk (I used 2%)
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 tablespoons butter
Cool Whip or whipped cream, for serving

1. In an 8-inch square pan, line up Nilla wafers.  You could just dump them in and smooth, but I lined them up in rows and made two layers of wafers.  Top wafers with banana slices.  Set aside.
2. In small heatproof bowl, beat egg yolks until smooth.  Set aside
3. In small saucepan, mix sugar and cornstarch together with a whisk until evenly mixed.  Pour in cold milk and whisk until smooth.
4. Place saucepan on medium heat.  Stir constantly and cook until it bubbles.  Allow mixture to boil for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
5. Working very quickly, whip egg yolks while pouring about 1 cup of the hot milk into egg yolks.  Beat yolk/milk mixture until smooth and whip back into hot milk in saucepan.  Return to medium heat.
6. With saucepan on heat, stirring constantly, return mixture to a soft boil.  Once it boils, remove from heat.
7. Stir vanilla and butter into pudding until vanilla is incorporated and butter is melted.  Pour hot pudding over bananas and wafers in square pan.  Gently tap pan against counter (lift an inch off surface and gently drop) to bring any air bubbles to the surface.  Place a piece of plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the pudding to prevent skin from forming.
8. Place pan of pudding in the refrigerator on a level shelf or surface.  Allow to chill for at least 4 hours before serving.  Can be stored in refrigerator for no more than 2 days (wafers get too soggy).  Serve with Cool Whip or whipped cream.

Cheese Grits

I love grits.  They aren't real common where I live, but at least once a summer I like to make them for dinner.  The instant ones are OK, but I always think that homemade are better.  These don't have eggs and aren't baked, so they are more dense and--I think--have a better texture.

Serves 4

1 1/2 cups water
1 1/2 cups milk (I used 2%)
1 cup grits (they might be labeled polenta)
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup grated mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese

1. In small saucepan, bring water and milk to a boil over medium heat.  Stir in grits and garlic salt.  Still over medium heat, cook and stir grits for 5 minutes or until thick.  Remove from heat.
2. Stir in cheese and mix to melt.  Serve immediately. 

Southern Sundays

During the summer, it has become a ritual in my house to make a Southern (or, at times, Southern-inspired) dinner on Sundays.  It happens to coincide with the season of TrueBlood on HBO.  I don't live in the South--not even close, really--but it gets plenty hot here in the summer and I call that good enough.  The tags will tell you which recipes came out of this weekly experimentation.