A Love Affair with Southern Cooking (42 page)

Back in the 1970s when I began writing a food series for
Family Circle
magazine called “America’s Great Grass Roots Cooks,” the first person I profiled was a North Carolina farm woman in Rockingham County. From my growing-up years in the Tar Heel State, I knew that I’d find there just the person to kick off the series. And so I did: Mrs. Oscar McCollum, who lived just outside the county seat of Reidsville. Of this dish she said, “This is a real old recipe. One I grew up on. I put up my own tomatoes, so I use them. But you could use store-bought.”

3 cups home-canned or store-bought tomatoes with their liquid

4 tablespoons (½ stick) lightly salted butter

3 cups moderately coarse stale white bread crumbs (not dry crumbs)

3 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon black pepper

¼ teaspoon ground allspice

• 1.
  Preheat the oven to 400° F. Butter a 9 × 9 × 2-inch baking dish and set aside.
  
• 2.
  Heat the tomatoes and butter in a large nonreactive saucepan over moderate heat just until the butter melts. Mix in the crumbs, sugar, salt, and pepper.
  
• 3.
  Turn into the prepared baking dish and sprinkle lightly with the allspice.
  
• 4.
  Bake uncovered on the middle oven shelf for 40 to 45 minutes or until lightly browned. Let stand at room temperature about 5 minutes before serving.
  

Soft as butter in August.

—
OLD NORTH CAROLINA SAYING

His wife, Regina, lived out her life here, much beloved by the Kitchen Gang, of which she was a baking, frying, slicing, dicing bonafide member.

—
ANNE RICE
,
BLACKWOOD FARM

FRIED GREEN TOMATOES

MAKES
4
TO
6
SERVINGS

Every southern cook has a pet recipe for fried green tomatoes and this one is an amalgam I’ve evolved over the years. What gives these tomatoes especially good flavor is the flour-and-cornmeal combo used to dredge them, also the addition of bacon drippings to the frying oil. Two of my favorite appetizers, Black-Eyed Pea Hummus and Shrimp Rémoulade, call for fried green tomatoes—and you won’t go wrong using this recipe. Note:
I find the granular yellow “supermarket” cornmeal too gritty for dredging the tomatoes, so if the stone-ground is unavailable, simply double the amount of flour below.

6 hard green tomatoes, each measuring 2 to 2½inches across

1 extra-large egg

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

1 cup fine dry bread crumbs

½ cup unsifted all-purpose flour

½ cup unsifted stone-ground yellow cornmeal

¼ cup vegetable oil plus 2 tablespoons bacon drippings, or 6 tablespoons vegetable oil (for frying)

• 1.
  Without coring or peeling the tomatoes, slice them
  ³
  /
  ₈
  inch thick; discard the end pieces and spread the slices on paper toweling while you proceed with the recipe.
  
• 2.
  Whisk the egg until frothy in a small bowl with ½ teaspoon each of the salt and pepper; set aside.
  
• 3.
  Combine the bread crumbs with another ¼ teaspoon each of the salt and pepper in a pie pan and set aside. Next, combine the flour, cornmeal, and remaining salt and pepper in a second pie pan and set aside also.
  
• 4.
  Dredge each tomato slice in the flour-cornmeal combo, then dip into the egg mixture, then coat with the bread crumbs, shaking off the excess. Air-dry the breaded slices on a wire rack for 15 to 20 minutes. This helps the breading stick to the tomatoes.
  
• 5.
  Place the oil and bacon drippings in a large, heavy iron skillet and set it over moderately high heat for about 2 minutes. When a cube of bread sizzles when dropped into the hot oil, begin frying the green tomatoes, allowing 1 to 1½ minutes for each side to brown. As the tomatoes brown, lift to paper toweling to drain.
  
• 6.
  Serve hot as a vegetable. Or use as other recipes direct.
  

“That reminds me, whatever you do, Kate…take that fresh Lady Baltimore cake out to the house…And make Rachel hunt through the shelves for some more green tomato pickle.”

—
EUDORA WELTY
,
KIN

CORN BREAD DRESSING WITH PECANS AND BACON

MAKES
12
TO
14
SERVINGS, ENOUGH TO STUFF A
12-
TO
15-
POUND TURKEY

Many corn bread dressings are made with sausage, but because those dressings tend to be greasy, I prefer a good lean bacon cooked until crisp and brown. This dressing is fairly light—not too moist, not too dry. I always bake it separately because I think this method safer. If you want to stuff the bird, do so just before you shove it into the oven. Spoon the dressing lightly into the body and neck cavities, then truss the bird. If there’s extra dressing—and there usually is—bundle it in aluminum foil and bake 30 to 35 minutes at 350° F.

It’s important to make the corn bread a day or two before you use it. I split it horizontally, spread it on a baking sheet, and let stand at room temperature, turning the pieces several times as they dry. I also set the slices of white bread out to dry. Note:
To toast the pecans, spread in a jelly-roll pan or rimmed baking sheet, then set on the middle shelf of a 350° F. oven for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring well at half-time.

12 cups (3 quarts) ¾-to 1-inch chunks stale, dry corn bread (Iron Skillet Corn Bread, Chapter 5, or your own favorite recipe; see headnote)

6 slices stale, dry firm-textured white bread, cut into ½-inch cubes (see headnote)

2 cups coarsely chopped toasted pecans (see Note above)

½ cup coarsely chopped parsley

1 pound hickory-smoked bacon, each slice cut crosswise into strips ½ inch wide

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, melted, or 1 cup bacon drippings or vegetable oil

2 very large yellow onions, coarsely chopped

4 large celery ribs, trimmed and coarsely chopped (include a few leaves)

1 tablespoon rubbed sage

1½ teaspoons dried leaf thyme, crumbled

6 cups chicken broth or stock

3 extra-large eggs, well beaten

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon black pepper

• 1.
  Preheat the oven to 350° F. Spritz a 13 × 9 × 2-inch baking pan with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
  
• 2.
  Place the two breads, pecans, and parsley in a very large mixing bowl and set aside.
  
• 3.
  Brown the bacon in a very large, heavy skillet over moderate heat, stirring often, for 12 to 14 minutes until all the drippings render out. Drain the bacon on paper toweling and if you intend to use the drippings in the dressing, pour them into a measuring cup. You should have about 1 cup; if not, round out the measure with melted butter or vegetable oil.
  
• 4.
  Heat ½ cup of the melted butter or bacon drippings in the same skillet for about 1 minute over moderately high heat. Add the onions and celery and cook, stirring often, for 10 to
  12 minutes until lightly browned. Add the sage and thyme, and cook and stir for 1 to 2 minutes more.
  
• 5.
  Scoop the skillet mixture into the mixing bowl along with the reserved bacon and remaining melted butter or bacon drippings; toss well. Add 3 cups of the chicken broth, the eggs, salt, and pepper and toss well again.
  
• 6.
  Transfer the dressing to the baking pan, spreading to the edges, then drizzle the remaining 3 cups chicken broth evenly on top.
  
• 7.
  Cover snugly with heavy-duty foil and bake on the middle oven shelf for 25 minutes. Stir the dressing well, cover again with foil, and bake 20 minutes more or until steaming.
  
• 8.
  Serve hot with roast turkey, chicken, or pork and top with lots of gravy.
  

CHESAPEAKE OYSTER–CORN BREAD DRESSING

MAKES
10
TO
12
SERVINGS

Some years ago when
Food & Wine
asked me to write an article on regional American turkey stuffings, I knew that this one was a “must.” I’d found it in my mother’s recipe file, dog-eared and double-starred. Ever meticulous about recipe sources, Mother had written “Mrs. Johnson, Whitestone, VA” in the upper right-hand corner of the card. She was the wife of the farmer who served as caretaker for our summer cottage. Located on what we called “the little bay,” an inlet of the Chesapeake, our cottage was just downriver from an oyster pound. Even though I’m allergic to oysters, I did enjoy chugging up Anti-Poison Creek with my father to fetch them for my mother. The recipe below is adapted from the one that appeared in
Food & Wine.
Note:
As for corn bread, use any favorite recipe (not a mix because most are too sweet) as long as it’s firm enough to break into chunks without disintegrating. I favor Iron Skillet Corn Bread.

1½ pints shucked oysters with their liquor

5 cups coarsely crumbled stale, dry corn bread (see Note above)

4 cups coarsely crumbled soda crackers

4 medium celery ribs, trimmed and coarsely chopped (include a few leaves)

1 medium yellow onion, coarsely chopped

¼ cup minced fresh parsley

2 teaspoons poultry seasoning

1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

1 teaspoon black pepper, or to taste

½ teaspoon salt, or to taste

¾ cup (1½ sticks) butter, melted

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

• 1.
  Preheat the oven to 350° F. Spritz a deep 3-quart casserole with nonstick cooking spray. Also lightly coat the dull side of a large piece of aluminum foil with nonstick spray; set both aside.
  
• 2.
  Pour the oysters and their liquor into a large fine sieve set over a large bowl. Measure out and reserve 1 cup of the liquor; if there is insufficient oyster liquor, round out the measure with bottled clam juice or water.
  
• 3.
  Coarsely chop the oysters, place in a large mixing bowl, then add the corn bread, soda crackers, celery, onion, parsley, poultry seasoning, lemon zest, pepper, and salt and toss well to mix. Add the melted butter, lemon juice, and ½ cup of the reserved oyster liquor and toss well again. Taste for salt and pepper and adjust as needed.
  
• 4.
  Spoon the dressing into the casserole, spreading to the edge, then drizzle the remaining ½ cup oyster liquor evenly on top. Place the foil on top, dull side down, and smooth tightly over the sides of the casserole.
  
• 5.
  Slide the casserole onto the middle oven shelf and bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until the dressing is steaming-hot.
  
• 6.
  Serve with roast turkey, capon, or even with roast pork.
  

CAJUN RICE, SAUSAGE, AND TASSO DRESSING

MAKES
10
TO
12
SERVINGS

Here’s another recipe adapted from my
Food & Wine
feature on regional American dressings. The inspiration for this one was Miss Tootie Guirard, a fine Cajun cook whom I’d interviewed some years earlier for
Family Circle.
I spent a week with Miss Tootie in St. Martinville, Louisiana, and left with a notebook full of colorful Cajun sayings and culinary wisdom. According to Miss Tootie, no Cajun cook would ever “rush a roux.” It should brown slowly, ever so slowly, so that its flavor is robust but not bitter. Because of the saltiness of the sausage, tasso, and broth, this dressing is unlikely to need additional salt. But taste before serving. Note:
The best plan is to make this long-winded recipe a day in advance, refrigerate it, and reheat just before serving. I fluff the dressing, cover, and microwave on REHEAT (75 to 80 percent power) for 10 to 15 minutes.
Tip:
To save time, prepare the roux and rice mixtures simultaneously.