Sweet Home Alabama!

Oh Yes! I did it. Whew.

Ladies, it looks like we will be doing a Southern Living theme on October 25th at 6:00. Any excuse to make mashed potatoes. Plus, when the weather turns crisp some good old comfort food is order. I will be making oven fried chicken as the main dish. (By the way - I am a no recipe gal..)

Need ideas try looking on http://southernfood.about.com or http://easysoutherncooking.com.

Think Paula's Home Cooking from the Food Network.

Rachel and Amanda here. We spoke with our friend from Raleigh for ideas. She said we MUST have pecan pie for dessert. Also collards and fried okra are appropriate vegetables, with herbal ice tea and something with mint to drink. We also brainstormed mashed sweet potatoes, biscuits, peach cobbler or pie, corn spoon bread, hush puppies, and navy beans with ham or red beans and rice. So we should start a list now of who is making what!!

Neve: Oven Fried Chicken
Miranda: Gumbo
Rachel: Biscuits and Apple Butter
Amanda: Drinks (Herbal Iced Tea or Non-alcoholic Mint Julep, I believe)
Sarah:Appetizer
Diana:
April: Pie- either Sweet Potato Pie or Pecan Pie, maybe one of each!
Ania: Cornbread
Tracy: Fried Green Tomatoes

If you're new and would like to bring something just include it in the comments!



Oven Fried Chicken
1 small box corn flakes
6-10 pieces chicken breast
pint buttermilk
garlic powder
sea salt
pepper
paprika

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
Pour buttermilk into medium sized mixing bowl.
Pour corn flakes into cake pan and crunch up with hands into peas sized flakes.
Cut chicken breast to desired size.
Season with salt, pepper, garlic powder and paprika.
Using grilling tongs dip seasoned chicken into buttermilk bath until coated.
Drop into cornflakes. Coat completely.
Place on cookie sheet (parchment paper prevents sticking) with tongs. Repeat.
Cook for 25-35 minutes until completely cooked.

Gumbo

(I cut this recipe in half, left out the chicken and the file powder, added 1/2 a bag of frozen okra, and improvised the ESSENCE seasoning.)

Recipe courtesy Emeril Lagasse

Cook Time:

3 hr 30 min

Serves:

6 to 7 cups, 6 to 8 servings

1 tablespoon plus 1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 pound smoked sausage, such as andouille or kielbasa, cut crosswise 1/2-inch thick pieces
4 pounds chicken thighs, skin removed
1 tablespoon Essence or Creole seasoning, recipe follows
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups chopped onions
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped bell peppers
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
3 bay leaves
9 cups chicken stock or canned low-sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup chopped green onions
2 tablespoons chopped parsley leaves
tablespoon file powder
White Rice, recipe follows
Hot sauce

In a large enameled cast iron Dutch oven or large pot, heat 1 tablespoon of the
vegetable oil over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and cook until well browned, about 8 minutes. Remove the
sausage with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Set aside.

Season the chicken with the Essence and add in batches to the fat remaining in the pan. Cook over
medium-high heat until well browned, 5 to 6 minutes. Remove the chicken from the pan, let cool, and then
refrigerate until ready to use.

Combine the remaining 1/2 cup oil and the flour in the same Dutch oven over medium heat. Cook, stirring slowly
and constantly for 20 to 25 minutes, to make a dark brown roux, the color of chocolate.

Add the onions, celery, and bell peppers and cook, stirring, until wilted, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the reserved
sausage, salt, cayenne, and bay leaves, stir, and cook for 2 minutes. Stirring, slowly add the chicken stock,
and cook, stirring, until well combined. Bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook,
uncovered and stirring occasionally, for 1 hour.

Add the reserved chicken to the pot and simmer for 1 1/2 hours, skimming off any fat that rises to the surface.

Remove the pot from the heat. Using a slotted spoon, remove the chicken thighs from the gumbo and place on a
cutting board to cool slightly. Remove and discard the bay leaves. Pull the chicken meat from the bones and
shred, discarding the bones and skin. Return the meat to the gumbo and stir in the green onions, parsley, and
file powder.

Spoon rice into the bottom of deep bowls or large cups and ladle the gumbo on top. Serve, passing hot sauce on
the side.

Emeril's ESSENCE Creole Seasoning (also referred to as Bayou Blast):
2 1/2 tablespoons paprika
2 tablespoons salt
2 tablespoons garlic powder
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon dried thyme

Combine all ingredients thoroughly.


Southern Sweet Potato Pie With a Kick
1 cup mashed cooked sweet potatoes
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon lemon extract
2 teaspoons bourbon or whiskey
sprinkle of nutmeg
1 unbaked pie shell
2 egg whites
4 Tablespoons superfine sugar
Peel and mash potatoes, add butter while still hot. Beat eggs and sugar until light. Mix into sweet potatoes. Add milk, lemon extract, and bourbon. Pour into unbaked pie shell. Sprinkle lightly with nutmeg. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Cover with meringue (see below) and put back into oven just until peaks are brown.
Meringue: Beat 2 egg whites until soft peaks form, SLOWLY add 4 Tablespoons of superfine sugar and beat until stiff peaks form. Pile onto pie and seal to pie shell by bringing the meringue up to and touching the shell.

Pecan Pie

1 Cup Karo Dark Corn Syrup

3 eggs

2/3 cup sugar

3 Tbsp butter, melted

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups (6 ounces) pecans

1 unbaked 9-inch pie crust

Stir the first 5 ingredients thoroughly using a spoon. Mix in pecans. Pour in crust. Bake for 55-60 minutes at 350 degrees. Cool for 2 hours.

(This recipe is the adjusted for high altitude, since that is how I made it.)

Pie Crust Recipe
1 Cup flour
1/2 cup butter
pinch of salt
2 Tbsp ice cold water

Cut in the butter to the flour and salt-mix well. Add water. Do not over mix. Put directly in pie plate.

Hush Puppies

1 small onion, chopped

1/2 t salt

1/2 t baking soda

1 1/2 C self-rising cornmeal

1/2 C self-rising flour

1 C buttermilk

1 egg, lightly beaten

6 C vegetable oil

Using a large skillet, preheat oil to 350 degrees. Using a mixing bowl, stir together the cornmeal,flour baking soda, and salt. Stir in the onion. In a small bowl stir together the buttermilk and eggs. Pour the wet into the dry. Mix well until blended. Drop the batter one teaspoon at a time into the oil. Fry until golden brown, turning the hush puppies while they cook.

Buttermilk Biscuits (From Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything)
2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
4 tbs cold butter
7/8 cup buttermilk

Preheat oven to 450.
Mix the dry ingredients, then cut in the butter. Add the buttermilk and stir until it forms a ball. Fold and roll out on flour 2-4 times (folding instead of kneading creates flaky layers). Roll out to 3/4 inch thick and cut with a sharp round biscuit cutter. Bake 7-9 minutes. Makes 10-14 biscuits.

Apple Butter (Kind of improvised here, I think this is what I did)
Take 3 pounds apples and halve and core them. Put them in a pot of water to cover with 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar. Boil until very soft, about 30 minutes. Run the apples through a food mill to remove the peels and grind down the flesh. Put apples and juice back into the pot with 1 cup brown sugar, 1 tbs cinnamon, 1 tsp nutmeg. Stir and simmer all day (seriously, cook for hours), until the mixture is dark brown and thick like butter. Adjust sugar and spices to taste.

The Drinks:
Herbal Iced Tea (from recipezaar.com)
8 cups
Ingredients
* 4 lemon herb tea bags (like Celestial Seasonings Lemon Zinger)
* 4 red herb tea bags (like Celestial Seasonings Red Zinger)
* 4 cups boiling water
* 4 cups pure apple juice
* lemon slice

Directions
1. Steep the tea bags in boiling water for ten minutes, and discard tea bags.
2. Combine herb tea with the apple juice and refrigerate until cold.
3. Serve over ice with lemon slices.

Pineapple Mint Julep (non-alcoholic)
(I hunted, but the recipe seems to have disappeared from the web. So here's my best guess, based on memory)
Directions:
Make a simple syrup of sugar and fresh-squeeze lemon juice (about 1 oz total). Crush mint leaves into the syrup and let sit for at least 10 minutes. Strain and stir into 8 oz pineapple juice. Add the same amount (ish) of ginger ale and serve over ice. Garnish with fresh mint leaves and enjoy!

Fried Green Tomatoes

Yield

Makes 4 to 6 servings

Ingredients

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1/2 cup buttermilk

1/2 cup all-purpose flour, divided

1/2 cup cornmeal

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

3 medium-size green tomatoes, cut into 1/3-inch slices

Vegetable oil

Salt to taste

Preparation

Combine egg and buttermilk; set aside.

Combine 1/4 cup all-purpose flour, cornmeal, 1 teaspoon salt, and pepper in a shallow bowl or pan.

Dredge tomato slices in remaining 1/4 cup flour; dip in egg mixture, and dredge in cornmeal mixture.

Pour oil to a depth of 1/4 to 1/2 inch in a large cast-iron skillet; heat to 375°. Drop tomatoes, in batches, into hot oil, and cook 2 minutes on each side or until golden. Drain on paper towels or a rack. Sprinkle hot tomatoes with salt.

Southern Living, JULY 2003

For Fresh Tomato Dill Dip:
2 cups sour cream
3/4 cup fresh dill
3 green tomatoes chopped in food processor
1 cucumber chopped in food processor
1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
2 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. ground mustard

To make the dip, combine all ingredients in bowl and mix together. Refrigerate and serve with Crispy Fried Green Tomatoes.