October 9, 2009

Clean thoroughly and scrape it. Put it into a stove-pan with sufficient cold water, a pod of red pepper and salt. Baste frequently to make it crisp. Cook well done. Serve cold.
—Church of the Epiphany (Danville, Va.). Key to the Pantry: Choice, Tried Recipes. Danville, Va: Boatwright Bros, 1898.

January 13, 2009

Edna Lewis (1916-2006) was one of the best known and best loved Southern chefs of the 20th century. Born the granddaughter of former slaves in Freetown, Virginia, she was a sucessful chef and author (The Edna Lewis Cookbook (1972), The Taste of Country Cooking (1976) and In Pursuit of Flavor (1988).

Lewis moved to New York City from Virginia during the Depression. She met John Nicholson, an antiques dealer who in 1949 decided to open a restaurant on 58th Street, on the East Side of Manhattan called Café Nicholson. Lewis became the cook, winning over patrons with cheese soufflés and roast chicken. Café Nicholson became an instant success among bohemians and artists. The restaurant was frequented by William Faulkner,  Tennessee Williams, Truman Capote, Richard Avedon, Marlon Brando, Gloria Vanderbilt and Marlene Dietrich.

Lewis’ books had a profound influence on many Southern chefs, and her life was the subject of an excellent short film, Fried Chicken and Sweet Potato Pie. The film follows her life among sub-alternate cultures such as growing-up in the former-slave community of Freetown to working as a typist for the Communist Party in pre-WWII New York City.

The film features interviews with chefs, writers and scholars about Lewis’ life and legacy, and is an excellent introduction to Southern food.

To see Fried Chicken and Sweet Potato Pie, click here. You’ll be glad you did.

November 23, 2008

Stew your cranberries in a covered saucepan till soft, then pulp them through a hair sieve, return them to the saucepan, with equal weight of good brown sugar, and a spoonful of butter. A little water should be added, or the sauce will be too thick. To be served hot.
—Mary Ann Bryan Mason, The Young Housewife’s Counsellor (sic) and Friend: Containing Directions in Every Department of Housekeeping, 1875.

November 21, 2008

Joint chicken or cut in joints, dip in sweet milk, dredge with white corn meal instead of flour ; salt and pepper. Fry in boiling hot fat. (I preferred lard and butter mixed.)
Make a cream gravy. Serve with corn fritters made of canned or fresh corn. For three to four, one can of corn or six ears cut. Make a batter same as for hot cakes; put corn, salt and sugar to taste. Pour out of end of spoon into boiling fat. Cook a golden brown and serve.

—Mrs. J. E. Buckley, Echoes Of Southern Kitchens. Compiled and published by the Robert E. Lee Chapter, United Daughters of the Confederacy No. 278, Los Angeles, 1916

November 10, 2008

This is a classic recipe from the 1950s that came into my family by way of the late Marcia Gabriel Saunders of Charlotte, North Carolina. They are always found on the table at Christmastime.

Yield: 12 to 14 servings

• 8 medium potatoes
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh chives
• 8 ounces sour cream
• Paprika, salt, and pepper to taste

Peel, cube, and boil potatoes until tender. Beat cream cheese and sour cream together. Add drained, cooked potatoes and beat until smooth. Add remaining ingredients (except paprika) and mix to combine. Pour into a 2 quart casserole dish and dot the top with more butter. Sprinkle the top with paprika for a festive touch, or Parmesan cheese if you prefer. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Serves 10.
Can be made ahead and frozen or refrigerated before baking.

Source: www.chefrick.com

November 9, 2008

Black-eyed pea soup was probably a fixture in slave cabin cookery prior to the Civil War, but doesn’t show up in Southern cookbooks written by whites until the late nineteenth century.

1 cup dried black-eyed peas
2 tablespoons bacon drippings
1 small yellow onion
Cayenne pepper to taste
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon flour

Wash and pick over peas. Place peas in a 4-quart mixing bowl, cover with water and soak overnight.

Discard remaining liquid. In a 6- to 8-quart Dutch oven over medium heat, sauté onion until tender. Add peas, salt and cayenne; cover with 2 quarts water and bring to a rolling boil. Reduce heat and simmer until peas are tender, about 45 minutes. Check cooking liquid; if it hasn’t reduced by one half, increase heat and cook until approximately one quart of liquid remains. Add flour and stir to thicken. Serve with hot corn bread.

November 6, 2008

It’s appropriate on many levels that the first post for Hushpuppy Nation be titled In The Begining, as it not only begins a new blog, but also looks at the origins of Southern foodways.

To understand where Southern food came from, it’s necessary to take a trip back to the 1400s. Columbus had just “discovered” the New World while trying to find an easy way to the spices of Asia. So, the very reason for Europeans being here was food-related. As soon as he noticed that the natives had lots of shiny gold jewelry, Columbus claimed the New World for Spain, setting off a power struggle between the French, Spanish and English for control of the New World and all that gold.

The Spanish established a settlement at St. Augustine, Florida in the late 1560s, prompting the English to make several attempts to colonize Virginia, culminating with the settlement of Jamestown in 1607.

The Melting Pot

Southern cooking is a unique blend of European, African and Native American foods and cooking techniques that is also influenced by geography and the nationality of the people who settled that particular piece of Southern real estate.

Louisiana is a good example of the geographic divisions. In south Louisiana, French and Spanish influences flavor the Cajun and Creole cuisine; in the rest of the state, the cuisine is the English-based, traditional Southern cooking.

Native Americans and Africans also played an important role in the development of Southern cooking. Native Americans gave us corn and grits, as well as showing the English how to effectively hunt wild game. Africans brought their skill at cultivating rice, deep fat frying and cooking one dish meals to the mix.

The role of Europeans, Native Americans and Africans will be covered in detail in future posts…