Category: Southern Cooking

Sweet Potato Pie

Culinary, Desserts, Southern Cooking

Pastry for a 9’inch single crust
1 cup sugar
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon salt
1¼ cups evaporated milk or half-and-half
2 eggs, beaten well
1½ cups mashed, cooked sweet potatoes
3 tablespoons butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Heat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line a 9-inch pie pan with crust and then crimp the edges decoratively.

Combine the sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt in a large bowl. Use a whisk to stir them together well. Add the milk and eggs, and stir to mix everything together evenly. Add the sweet potatoes, butter, and vanilla. Mix them together well, stirring them into the egg mixture carefully, until you have a thick, smooth, and evenly combined pie filling.

Pour the filling into the piecrust and place it on the middle rack of the oven. Bake until the edges puff up and the center is fairly firm, wiggling only a little when you gently nudge the pan, 50 to 55 minutes.

Place the pie on a cooling rack and let cool for 30 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Southern Shoofly Pie with Sorghum

Culinary, Desserts, Southern Cooking

Originally Shoofly pie began as a crust-less molasses cake called Centennial cake in 1876, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia. In the 1880s, home bakers added a crust to make it easier to eat alongside a cup of coffee in the morning, without plates and forks. Precursors include Jenny Lind cake, a gingerbread cake from the middle of the 19th century.

Ingredients:

  • Single Piecrust dough or 1 store-bought crust.

Filling:

  • ¾ cup sorghum syrup
  • 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup molasses
  • 1 large egg
  • 1-1/2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 cup boiling water
  • 1 large egg yolk, lightly beaten

Topping:

  • 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
  • 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • Dash salt
  • 6 tablespoons cold butter, cubed

Directions:

  • Roll dough to fit a 9-in. deep-dish pie plate. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes.
  • Meanwhile, preheat oven to 425°. For filling, mix brown sugar, molasses, sorghum syrup, egg, flour and baking soda. Gradually stir in boiling water and then cool.
  • Line unpricked crust with a double thickness of foil. Fill with pie weights. Bake on a lower oven rack 15 minutes. Remove foil and pie weights; brush crust with egg yolk. Bake 5 minutes. Cool. Reduce oven setting to 350°.
  • In another bowl, whisk together first four topping ingredients. Cut in butter until crumbly. Add filling to crust; sprinkle with topping. Cover edge of pie with foil.
  • Bake until filling is set and golden brown, 45-50 minutes. Cool. Serve.

Old Fashioned Chess Pie

Culinary, Desserts, Southern Cooking

9 inch single pie crust
2 cups sugar
2 tablespoons flour
½ cup butter, melted
4 eggs, beaten well
½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Line a 9-inch pie pan with crust and then crimp the edges decoratively.

In a large bowl, combine the sugar and flour, mix well. Add the butter, eggs, and vanilla. Stir well to combine everything into a smooth, thick filling. Pour the filling into the piecrust.

Place the pie on the bottom shelf of the oven. Bake for 10 minutes. Lower the heat to 350 degrees, and bake until the center is fairly firm, wiggling only a little when you gently nudge the pan, 30 to 40 minutes.

Place the pie on a cooling rack and let cool to room temperature.

Enjoy!

Chocolate Cheesecake

Culinary, Desserts, Southern Cooking
  • 1 1/4 cup Zweiback crumbs (Crushed Nilla Wafers May be substituted)
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 1/4 cup melted butter
  • 12 ounces (12 squares) semisweet chocolate
  • 1/2 cup hot coffee with 3 tablespoons almond extract
  • 2 8 ounce packages cream cheese, softened
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 4 eggs
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • Whipped Cream (optional)
  • Shaved chocolate (optional)
  • Almond slices (optional)

Combine Zweiback crumbs and 1 tablespoon sugar.  Butter sides of a springform pan. Shake some of the crumbs around pan to coat sides.  Add melted butter to remaining crumbs, blend well. Press mixture over bottom of pan.

Meanwhile, melt chocolate with coffee over hot, not boiling water. Beat cream cheese until light and fluffy. Gradually add sugar, beating constantly. Scrape down sides of bowl and beat again. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each. Stir in vanilla and salt.  Beat in melted chocolate until blended. Pour into prepared pan.

Bake in preheated 325 degrees oven for 55 minutes. Turn off heat, set door ajar and allow to cool for 2-3 hours. Before serving spread with whipped cream and sprinkle with shaved chocolate and almond slices.

Serve cake at room temperature.

Buttermilk Pie

Culinary, Desserts, Southern Cooking

  • 1 unbaked pie shell
  • 12 eggs
  • 6 cups sugar
  • 1 cup flour
  • 3 cups buttermilk
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • One lemon, zested
  • Juice of one lemon
  • 1 vanilla bean, scraped
  • 8 ounces melted butter

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Keep the unbaked pie shell in the fridge until ready to use, the crust should be nice and cold before baking.

Whisk all other ingredients together, adding buttermilk in at the very end to avoid curdling.

Pour the buttermilk mixture into the cold, unbaked pie shell and bake for 50-60 minutes, or until you get an even jiggle throughout. It should not be too firm, because it continues to cook and set up as it cools.

Allow to cool before serving.

Traditional Pie Crust: Butter & Shortening Dough

Culinary, Desserts, Southern Cooking

2½ cups all-purpose flour, unbleached
½ teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons butter, cut into tablespoon-size pieces
8 tablespoons vegetable shortening
½ cup ice water plus 1–2 tablespoons more as needed
Additional flour for rolling out dough

Add all ingredients but the ice water in a large bowl.

Quickly work the mixture together with your hands until the ingredients look like cracker crumbs with lumps the size of peas.

Sprinkle ice water over the mixture and stir lightly with a fork.

Squeeze a handful of dough to see if it holds together. Mix in more water as needed.

Divide the dough in half and make two  discs about 5 inches across.

Wrap the discs separately in plastic wrap and chill for an hour.

Roll the dough until is is approximately 1 to 2 inches larger than your pie pan, brush off the extra flour.

Lay the dough in the pie pan carefully.  Don’t worry if the crust has cracks or even a small hole. Brush a little water where it needs to be patched and glue on the patch piece.

Put the filling in the pie and repeat the process with the other piece of dough.

Traditional Pie Crust: All Butter Dough

Culinary, Desserts, Southern Cooking

2½ cups all-purpose flour, unbleached
½ teaspoon salt
14 tablespoons butter, cut into tablespoon-size pieces
½ cup ice water + 1–2 tablespoons more as needed
Additional flour for rolling out dough

Add all the ingredients but the ice water in a large bowl.

Quickly work the mixture together with your hands until the ingredients look like cracker crumbs with lumps the size of peas.

Sprinkle ice water over the mixture and stir lightly with a fork.

Squeeze a handful of dough to see if it holds together. Mix in more water as needed.

Divide the dough in half and make two discs about 5 inches across.

Wrap the discs separately in plastic wrap, and chill for about an hour.

Roll the dough until is is approximately 1 to 2 inches larger than your pie pan, brush off the extra flour.

Lay the dough in the pie pan carefully.  Don’t worry if the crust has cracks or even a small hole. Brush a little water where it needs to be patched and glue on the patch piece.

Put the filling in the pie and repeat the process with the other piece of dough.

Traditional Pie Crust: Leaf Lard & Butter Dough

Culinary, Desserts, Southern Cooking

FOR ONE DOUBLE-CRUST PIE OR TWO SINGLE-CRUST PIES

Ingredients

  • 2½ cups all-purpose unbleached flour
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 8 tablespoons (punsalted butter, in tablespoon-size pieces
  • 8 tablespoons rendered leaf lard, in tablespoon-size pieces *
  • ½ cup ice water plus 1–2 tablespoons more as needed
  • Flour for rolling out dough

* Leaf lard is available at most butcher shops, some farmers’ markets, and also Online.

Directions

  • Add all ingredients except the ice water to a large bowl.
  • Quickly mix the mixture together with your hands or a pastry blender with an up and down motion, until the ingredients appear like cracker crumbs with lumps the size of peas.
  • Sprinkle ice water over the mixture and stir lightly with a fork until a handful of dough holds together. Add more water as needed.
  • Divide the dough in two and make two discs about 5 inches across.
  • Wrap the dough in two plastic wrap packages, and chill for about an hour.
  • Take out the dough and allow to warm slightly  until they feel slightly soft to the touch and easy to roll out.
  • Unwrap one and place it on a well-floured board or pastry cloth.  Sprinkle some flour on top. Hit the dough with your rolling pin several times. Turn it over and hit the other side.
  • Sprinkle more flour onto the dough as needed to keep the pin from sticking, and roll the crust out from the center in all directions.
  • Roll the dough until is is approximately 1 to 2 inches larger than your pie pan, brush off the extra flour.
  • Lay the dough in the pie pan carefully.  Don’t worry if the crust has cracks or even a small hole. Brush a little water where it needs to be patched and glue on the patch piece.
  • Put the filling in the pie and repeat the process with the other piece of dough.

Note: You may add a teaspoon or two of sugar if you prefer a sweeter dough.

Country Ham Red Eye Gravy

Culinary, Gravies, Southern Cooking

Purportedly Andrew Jackson once told a hung-over cook to prepare him a plate of ham and gravy “as red as your eyes.”

1 tablespoon bacon grease or unsalted butter
4 cooked thick-cut country ham slices
1½ cups strong brewed coffee
1½ teaspoons dark brown sugar
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Melt the bacon grease in a large cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Fry the ham slices for 3 to 4 minutes per side until hot.  Remove the ham and keep warm.

Reserve 1 tablespoon of the rendered fat in the skillet. Add the coffee and brown sugar, stirring to scrape up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Cook until reduced by half. The gravy will be thin. Season with salt and pepper to taste, but keep in mind the country Ham is salty. Serve with ham slices and warm biscuits.

Southern Larder

Culinary, Southern Cooking

Southern Larder

  • Butter: Buy the best quality butter you can find, Yes its that important. Unless otherwise indicated, I use unsalted butter because it’s generally a superior product. Also salted butter has an unpredictable amount of salt, it’s easier to control the overall salt level in a dish by using unsalted butter. This should go without saying, but I never use margarine as a substitute for butter.
  • Buttermilk: If you’re buying it at the grocery store know what you’re getting, it’s more than likely just cultured milk and bears little to no resemblance to the tart liquid that runs off a batch of fresh butter. Seek out the real thing from a local dairy if possible, your biscuits and cornbread will thank you.
  • Cane Syrup: Once a Southern staple, cane syrup has mostly fallen by the wayside. Now the best known syrup is unquestionably Steen’s from Abbeville, Louisiana. Steen’s Syrup has been around for over 106 years bringing to mind hot glazed hams, popcorn balls, pecan pies, biscuits, pancakes and syrup. Golden brown, sweet, molasses-like flavor without the bitterness, not too thick with an almost maple syrup viscosity.
  • Duke’s Mayonnaise: If you’re going to use prepared mayonnaise use the best. Invented in Greenville, South Carolina. Duke’s is the only big-name mayonnaise with no added sugar, which means its vinegar tang sings loud and clear when slathered on a tomato sandwich.
  • Family Size Teabags: A family-size tea bag, of basic black tea, not green, is the equivalent of three or four regular tea bags and perfect for making gallons of sweet tea to keep in your fridge in case guests stop by.
  • Hot Sauces: Hot sauces are an institution in the South with many people extremely devoted to their variety. Louisiana–made Crystal on fried seafood po’ boys. Bayou Tabasco in a Bloody Mary. Texas Pete, which is actually from North Carolina, is perfect for North Carolina barbecue, both eastern or western. This isn’t to mention the small-batch options around, made with unusual regional chiles like Chesapeake fish peppers and datil peppers from St. Augustine, Florida.
  • Jarred Pimento Peppers: One 4-ounce jar of diced pimentos is all you need to make a batch of pimento cheese if guests stop by. It’s worth keeping a few jars on hand at all times.
  • Panko Breadcrumbs: Japanese panko bread crumbs produce a lighter, crispier crust on breaded foods.
  • Peanut Oil: I prefer peanut oil (or grapeseed oil) and it’s high smoke point (440 degrees) as compared to canola oil and especially olive oil. If you think this doesn’t matter fry some chicken or a small bird in canola and peanut, the peanut oil fried chicken will have a much less oily and “greasy” taste. I still have olive oil on hand for other uses.
  • Quality Stone Ground Grits: We are talking about the real thing here, not instant grits that have nothing in common with stone ground grits. I’ll use quick grits on occasion if I’m making a grits casserole, but whenever possible take the time to use the real thing, the ones your grandmother remembers.Invest in grits milled from good crop, like those from South Carolina’s Anson Mills or Alabama’s McEwen & Sons. Store yourgrits in the freezer to keep them nearly as fresh as the day they were ground.
  • Quality Cornmeal: Much Of the same rules apply to cornmeal as do to grits. Buy the best quality ground cornmeal and store in the freezer.
  • Sorghum Syrup: Chancesare if you don’t live in the South you’ve never heard of this absolutely delicious concoction. Sorghum is cane syrup’s darker, more complex cousin. It is the pressed juice of sorghum cane, reduced into a sweet syrup. Pour over buttered biscuits and use as a substitute for cane syrup or honey, you won’t be disappointed. If you don’t live in the South the internet is a wonderful resource. So what do I do with it once I have it? Sorghum butter is a must! Mix the two up together and spread it on fresh biscuits or a warm square of cornbread. Glazes for ham, sweet potatoes, carrots. Drizzle on toast and ice cream. Pair it with cheese and use it to sweeten cocktails.
  • Southern Sodas: Nehi (Originally Columbus, Georgia), Blenheim Ginger Ale (Blenheim, South Carolina), Cheerwine (Salisbury, North Carolina), Grapico (Birmingham, Alabama), Ale-8-One (Louisville, Kentucky), Dublin Vanilla Cream (San Antonio, Texas)
  • Winter Wheat Flour: This is all about making biscuits, well not only but that is reason enough. Few, if any, other brands can compete with White Lily of Memphis, Tennessee. Made from low-protein, low-gluten soft winter wheat flour, which gives Southern buttermilk biscuits that light-on-the-inside, crisp-on-the-outside texture. Buy a bag you won’t be disappointed.