Southern Cuisine

[frigilux]

I don't know what's come over my stubbornly northern palate the past few days; I've been craving southern foods!

I used one of Paula Deen's dry rub recipes on a chuck roast, which I cooked at 300 degrees for 3-1/2 hours, then pulled for sandwiches. I made a batch of Memphis-style barbecue sauce, but the roast was so flavorful I didn't add any to the pulled meat.

I also made southern-style deviled eggs (again with a Deen recipe) and sweet tea.

(Aside: Authentic sweet tea is really, really sweet. I usually make iced tea without sugar. I'll put a shot or two of lemonade in with individual servings, or a sprinkle of sugar.)

Symptom Number 2: Normally, I'm not a biscuit person. Given the choice between a traditional dinner roll or a biscuit, the dinner roll wins every time (or in the case of breakfast, toast wins.) But for some reason, I'm going to spend a couple of hours tomorrow with various biscuit recipes to see if I can step mine up past "generically OK". Am especially eager to try making flaky biscuits.

There are quite a few southerners in the AW family. Can you suggest other quintessential southern foods I might try? Thanks in advance for your suggestions.

 

[whirlcool]

For breakfast, cook up some biscuits & gravy. Fattening as hell, but oh so good.

If you don't feel up to it, just buy some grits to have with your normal breakfast.

Since tomorrow is Monday, that's the traditional Red Beans & Rice day. In the old days women would make it while doing their laundry. Add some smoked sausage to it and serve with garlic bread and a pork chop on the side. And don't forget the roux when starting!

And of course there is always chicken fried steak!

 

[appnut]

A cheese grits (baked) casserole!!!
(my mind is blank at the list hour plus some things I come up with aren't pure southern).

don't make that creame gravy stuff. Make dark brown gravey complete with a rioux first!!

Peach cobbler

Fresh green beans with ham or bacon boiled with them

 

[circlew]

For dessert

Coconut Cream Pie (topped with meringue), White or Yellow Cake with Coconut Frosting, or Pecan Pie. Appnut's suggestion of Peach Cobbler (or Pie) is timely with Peachs in season.

 

[washernoob]

Uhh!

that sounds fantastic.

For dinner my mom made these sandwitches called barbecue chicken grillers.

It was pulled chicken, marinated in red cooking wine, vinegar, and something else that I cant think of. With pickled onions, and a grilled bun.

It was very interesting. Dont know if I can call it southern, but it was nice!

 

[frigilux]

Bob and Allen---In fact, I purchased quick-cooking grits (Quaker is the only brand I have easy access to), and made Bacon and Cheese Grits last night. Not traditional, plain grits, but boy howdy was it good! I think the recipe came from The Neely's TV show. I'll have to try some plain grits. Are grits mainly a breakfast food, or do you serve it as a side dish at other meals, too? My Italian mother used to make polenta, and it reminded me a bit of that---without the marinara sauce and a meatball on top, of course, LOL.

I've heard of chicken-fried steak, but never had it. I'll add it to the list of foods to try over the next couple of weeks. Red beans and rice sounds good, too.

Tom---I'm all about the peach cobbler! Will have to make some later this week when I can get some decent peaches from the fruit stand between here and Mankato. They're the best peaches I can get in this area. The supermarket peaches here suck.

Brandon--Those chicken grillers do sound good! Your mom must be a great cook.

 

[norgeway]

Rhubarb pie...

My favorite as a kid,still my favorite today, as for peaches to me their is only one variety,they are called Georgia Belles,and they are not easy to find,but really good,also blackberry cobbler is good if you get out and hunt wild blackberries,those old things that you get in the grocery store are a poor substitute.

 

[polkanut]

Don't forget to make a nice batch of cornbread served warm with honey or molasses.

 

[mrb627]

Chocolate Lava Cake

Take your favorite chocolate cake mix and prepare like on the box. Spray the inside of your crock pot with Pam and preheat on high for 15 min. Pour in your cake batter and cover. Let bake in the crock for 75 to 90 minutes. Spoon cake into bowls and serve with vanilla ice cream. Yummy.

Malcolm

 

[joelippard]

Here's my menu for the week

Country style steak ( in the crock pot )
Fresh cut off corn (with 1/2 stick butter and 1/4 cup sugar)
Green Beans (french style, with almonds, butter, and salt)
New Potatoes, boiled and then fried afterward.
Fried Squash
Peanut Butter surprise for desert
of course, Sweet Tea, minimum 2 cups sugar to the gallon.

 

[maytagbear]

If a person is serious about Southern Cooking,

He/she/it/they really need to get their hands on this book:

A Love Affair With Southern Cooking: Recipes and Recollections by Jean Anderson.

Jean Anderson is a graduate of Cornell University, where she studied food and nutrition, and of Columbia University, where she got a Master's in journalism.

Jean Anderson grew up in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, where her father was a professor at UNC.

She writes excellent cookbooks, including Process This! (A James Beard award winner,) and The Foods of Portugal, winner of MANY awards. She co-wrote The New Doubleday Cookbook, and The New German Cookbook. Ms. Anderson does meticulous research and testing. I have NEVER had a failure from a Jean Anderson recipe, which is something that cannot be said about other cookbook writers.

Again, the title is A Love Affair With Southern Cooking.
Many libraries have it.

She's 80, and has a new book coming out this fall, called "Falling Off The Bone," about how to properly cook less-tender cuts of meat. I have already pre-ordered it from my local bookstore.

Lawrence/Maytagbear

does anyone read these posts of mine? does anyone give a hoot? sometimes I wonder.[this post was last edited: 7/19/2010-15:49]

 

[peterh770]

That perennial Southern vegetable: macaroni and cheese!

Paula has a super simple biscuit recipe. Wonderful!

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/cream-biscuits-recipe/index.html

 

[mrb627]

Mac -n- Cheese

Is the BEST!

Malcolm

 

[washernoob]

chicken fried steak and mac and cheese

Chicken fried steak has to be one of my most favorite foods ever. With good mashed potatoes or twice baked, and white country gravy! Ahh....

And for Mac and Cheese, I was watching Throwdown with Bobby Flay. They were doing a hotdog throwdown. Bobby did a Oaxaca hot dog, and the competetor did a MAC AND CHEESE HOT DOG!

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/brooklyns-cheesiest-dog-recipe/index.html

On the show the hotdog looked like the best thing in the world. I know what I am making soon.

 

[whirlcool]

Chicken Fried Steak is easy to make. Just buy a round steak, hammer it thin and then bread it in an egg/milk bread crumb/flour batter and fry it. We double batter it for that authentic taste.

I usually have grits as a hot breakfast food alongside bacon & eggs. I like putting pats of butter on them and a tiny bit of salt. You can put the rest in a square baking dish and place in the refrigerator. The next morning you'll have grits bars. Just heat and eat.

 

[aquarius1984]

WOW

I just googled recipes for Biscuits and Gravy and nearly choked for heaving at what I saw. I thought there would be no way I could eat that on the same plate but then I found a recipe on youtube for Sausage Gravy and biscuits and although I probably wouldnt be able to eat that it does seem particularly similar to a dish my Gran made us when we were children.

Never known anyone else's family having this so perhaps my Gran or one of her elders created it????

Take perhaps a generous half pint of milk per person and heat it gently in a saucpan.
NOW its heavily important that the milk does not boil nor to over dose on the Cornflour.

Take 1/4 teaspoon Cornflour (NO MORE or else) per 1/2 pint milk. Slake with minimal water to make a paste and add it to the milk and whisk like the clappers.

Now add crumbled Cheshire Cheese 2-3oz per person - a very dense crumbly salty English cheese with a tang. I dont know of an American cheese similar. Feta cheese may work although im not sure.

The cheese will mix in and then promptly sink to the bottom of the pan. It will look really watery and not at all thickened. Should be like a broth.

Serve in a hot bowl with pork chipolatas in the bottom and the cheese liqour poured over the top and plenty of black pepper.

Accompany with chunks of white bread to dip in.

 

[xraytech]

Well, it is very important to have some Red Velvet cake with cream cheese frosting.

you also cant forget some crispy fried chicken, cooked greens(my preference is dandelion), hushpuppies, and fried dill pickles

 

[pekedogs]

Lawrence, I read your posts. I remember you told me that your mom was a home ec teacher and so I give much credence to what you post about food (as well as other things.)

 

[norgeway]

Gravy..

One of the eaisiest things,and the one that most people screw up, First fry some good bacon , fatback or sausage, I like fatback grease the best,into the grease put about equal parts self rising flour,cook over low heat till brown,this is what most folks mess up, you MUST cook the flour fat until golden, or it will be nothing more than glorified wall paper paste!,then pepper this good, and add 1 large can evaporated milk,1 milk can full of water,stir and boil till thick,if too thick,add more water, if thin, cook a while,salt if needed...if you use fatback grease you wont need salt, make you some good old homemade biscuits and eat up!!