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Where I grew up, down in the hills of Kentucky, my Grandma's kitchen was the gatherin spot for the whole family.It always smelled of baking breads and simmering wonderful things. My favorite memories are of Grandma's kitchen, learning to make biscuits,canning all the things she grew in her garden and sippin on the best iced tea in the world! It was tradition for everyone to gather at Grandma's after Sunday Church service for a huge dinner. It may sounds sexist now days, but it's a comforting memory for me to remember all the women folk in the kitchen,men folk out on the porch, and kids all over the place.
This recipe is my Mom's creation, and it is an absolute favorite of David's!
For the cake:
For the frosting:
Cake:
This is another special Holiday recipe. Our usual Easter feast.
Cover ham with cold water and soak 24 to 36 hours before cooking. Use a stiff brush to scrub away any mold from ham surface. Rinse ham and place in a large roasting pan.add whole cloves, next 7 ingredients, and cold water to cover; bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer 20 to 25 minutes per pound or until ham reaches an internal temperature of 150 degrees F. Add apple cider and orange during last 1/2 hour cooking. Drain liquid from ham. Remove skin while ham is still warm, leaving fat intact. Trim excess fat, and score in a diamond pattern. Place a whole clove in the center of each diamond. Combine honey and molasses; brush all over ham. Combine cornmeal with next 5 ingredients and use to dust ham. Place ham in preheated 425 degree F. oven long enough to glaze. Slice very thin.
Ya'll can't do without pinto beans if you're a Southerner. Growing up,during tobacco season, a big kettle of beans was always simmering on the stove,waiting, when we came back from the baccer patch at supper time. Along with fried potatoes and cornbread, tomatoes and green onions, fresh from the garden and a gallon jug of sweet tea. YUM !!!
1 pound dried pinto beans
Rinse beans and remove any stones. Place beans in a large bowl and add enough water to cover by 3 inches. Soak beans overnight. In a large pot over medium heat, saute onion in bacon drippings. Add ham hock and enough water to cover. Bring to a rapid boil, reduce heat, and simmer, covered for 1 hours. Drain and rinse beans. Add beans with, if required, additional water to cover. Cover and simmer for about 1 hour. Add seasonings, stir and cook, covered, an additional hour or until beans are tender. Remove lid during the last 30 minutes of cooking and allow beans to cook down until broth reaches desired consistency. Add additional seasonings if desired.
My Grandma made good fried chicken, but my Mama makes GREAT fried chicken! Served with gravy,mashed taters,fresh peas,and the ever-present biscuits,tomatoes and tea! Makes my belly growl just thinking about it!!!
one 2 1/2 to 3 pound fryer chicken, cut up
Wash chicken pieces and place in a deep bowl. Cover with buttermilk and refrigerate at least 2 hours.Melt shortening in a cast iron skillet to a depth of about 1 inch. Heat to about 370 degrees F. In a plastic bag, mix together all of the dry ingredients. Remove chicken from bowl. Using additional seasoned slat and pepper, lightly coat season chicken. Place chicken in bag, one piece at a time. Shake well until thoroughly coated. Dip each piece in the buttermilk and coat with flour once again. Shake off excess; place on waxed paper for 15 minutes or until dry. Place chicken, skin side down, in hot shortening. Do not crowd skillet. Brown slowly until golden on all sides. Cover and simmer, turning occasionally, for 35 to 40 minutes or until juices run clear and chicken is tender. Uncover and cook 5 minutes longer.
4 pork chops
Wash pork chops and pat dry. Mix seasonings together. Rub on chops ( approximately 1/4 teaspoon per chop) Reserve remaining seasoning for gravy. Lightly dust chops with flour. Heat drippings in a large, heavy skillet. Add chops and brown each side, approximately 5 to 10 minutes. Remove chops from pan to a warm, paper-towel covered platter. Remove all but 1/4 cup drippings from pan. Add sliced onion to pan and saute until almost transparent. Add 3 tablespoons flour and remaining seasoning to the pan and brown. The trick is to get the flour as brown as possible without burning it or the onion. Add water and stir. Return chops to pan and add sufficient water to cover. Bring to a quick boil; reduce heat to low; cover and simmer about an hour or until chops are fork tender. Season to taste with additional seasoning mix, if desired.
2 large yellow onions, chopped
In a large, heavy pot over medium heat, saute onions, bell pepper, celery and garlic in bacon drippings. Add sausage and cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender, about 8 to 10 minutes. Add tomato sauce, tomatoes, ham,Tabasco, and spices. Simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes. Add chicken broth, bring to a quick boil and add rice. Cover pot and reduce heat. Simmer 15 minutes. if necessary, add more broth or water and cook until rice is tender.
3 medium baking potatoes
Peel potatoes and place in a medium pan with enough cold water to cover them. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Drain potatoes and refrigerate. When chilled, cut potatoes into thin slices. In medium cast iron skillet, saute onions in bacon drippings. Add potatoes. Add seasonings and periodically shake pan over medium heat until potatoes are golden all over. Serve hot.
There are two steps to making this one. First is the recipe for Dressing Corn Bread, which is used in the Corn Bread Dressing recipe.
DRESSING CORN BREAD Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl. Slowly add milk, beaten egg, chopped vegetables and vegetable oil; mix well; set aside. Lightly coat the bottom of a 6 inch cast iron skillet with additional oil and place in the preheated oven for 10 minutes. Remove the skillet and add batter. Reduce heat to 400 degrees F. and bake 20 to 25 minutes. CORN BREAD DRESSING Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place sliced bread and corn bread in a large bowl; add vinegar to milk and pour over bread. In a large skillet, melt bacon drippings and saute onion, celery and bell pepper until tender, but not mushy. remove from heat, add remainign ingredients, mix well, and pour into a well greased casserole pan. Bake at 350 degrees F. for abut an hour or as long as necessary to obtain a crusty exterior and soft, but firm, interior.
1/4 cup bacon drippings In a large pot, heat drippings over med-high heat. Add onion and jalapeno pepper. Fry until onion is soft. Add meat and enough water to cover; bring to a boil. reduce haet to medium. Cover and simmer 1 hour. Add remaining ingredients and cook 45 minutes more. Check often and add water as needed to prevent scorching. Simmer an additional 30 to 45 minutes or until greens are tender. DUMPLINGS 1 cup cornmeal
Place cornmeal in a large mixing bowl. Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt; mix into cornmeal. Beat eggs and combine with cornmeal mixture. Add milk and drippings. Using a large spoon, drop the batter onto greens; cover tightly and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes or until done.
This is my personal favorite. I have a hard time leaving the maters on the vine long enough to ripen!
1 cup yellow corn meal
Combine cornmeal, flour, sugar and seasonings; coat both sides of the tomato slices with the mixture. Place on a wire rack and allow to dry 10 minutes. in a large cast iron skillet, heat drippings or shortening over medium heat and fry tomatoes in a single layer. Brown each side lightly.
1 package active dry yeast Dissolve yeast in warm water. Beat butter, eggs and sugar; add dissolved yeast and stir. Add flour, salt and boiling water; mix well. Refrigerate dough overnight ot until well chilled. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. roll our dough to 3/4 inch thickness and cut into biscuits. Reroll scraps and cut again until all dough is used. Let biscuits rise 1 1/2 to 2 hours, and bake until golden brown, approximately 12 to 15 minutes.
2 cups all-purpose flour
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. In a large bowl, combine first 4 ingredients. Using a fork or pastry blender, cut in shortening until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. Blend in buttermilk until a soft dough is formed. Turn onto a lightly floured surface, and knead lightly 7 or 8 times. Roll to 1/2 inch thickness, and cut out with a floured biscuit cutter. Reroll scraps and cut until all dough is used. Place biscuits on an ungreased cookie sheet, about 1 inch apart and bake until golden, approximately 15 minutes.
3 eggs Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Beat eggs, spices, and sugar together. Stir in syrup, vanilla and butter. Place pecans on the bottom of the pie shell and cover with syrup. (Pecans will rise during baking) Bake 40 to 45 minutes or until a knife inserted in center comes out clean.
PIE SHELL: 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour In a medium bowl, sift together flour, sugar,and salt. Cut in butter and shortening until mixture resembles coarse meal. Stir in just enough water for mixture to come together. Form dough into a ball, and flatten it into a thin disk. Wrap in plastic and chill at least 30 minutes. Roll out on a lightly floured board. Start at the center and roll toward the edge, using light strokes. When dough is approximately 1/8 inch thick, press it into a 9-inch pie plate. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until golden. FILLING: 1 3/4 cups sugar In a heavy, medium size saucepan, combine sugar, cornstarch, flour and salt. Gradually whisk in water. Boil over medium heat for 1 minute while stirring constantly. Remove pan from heat and set aside. In a separate bowl, whisk egg yolks. Gradually whisk in some of the hot cornstarch mixture. Return warmed yolks to saucepan and boil until thick, again stirring constantly, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and whisk in juice, butter and lemon peel. Cool completely, and then spoon filling into crust, cover, chill and make maringue. MERINGUE: 3 egg white Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Beat egg whites until frothy but not stiff; add cream of tartar and continue beating until stiff enough to hold a peak. Gradually beat in sugar; then add remaining ingredients. At this point meringue should be stiff and glossy. Spoon meringue on top of cool pie filling and spread to the outer crust to prevent shrinkage, while mounding high in the middle. Bake 5 to 7 minutes until delicately browned. Cool at room temperature.
PIE SHELL: 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour Sift together first 4 ingredients into a medium bowl. Add butter and shortening. Rub with fingertips until mixture resembles coarse meal. Stir in enough water, a tablespoon at a time, until dough begins to come together. Gather dough into a ball; flatten; wrap in plastic and refrigerate at least 30 minutes before rolling. Roll half of dough into a 10 inch circle and fit into a 9 inch pie plate shell. Roll remaining dough into another 10 inch circle and set aside. PEACH FILLING: 8 ripe peaches, peeled, pitted and cut into 1/2 inch slices Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. In a large bowl, combine peaches, extracts, sugars, 1/4 cup flour, salt and lemon juice. Set aside for 10 to 15 minutes. Drain peaches and reserve liquid. Arrange peaches in the pastry lined pie plate. Dot with butter. Sprinkle filling with nutmeg and cinnamon. Add enough of the reserved liquid to just cover the fruit. Set aside the remaining liquid for later use. Sprinkle cinnamon sugar over second pastry circle and lightly press it into the dough. Cut pastry into 10 strips, 3/4 inch wide, and arrange in a lattice pattern over pie filling. Trim strips 1 inch beyond rim of pie plate, and fold trimmed edges under lower crust, pinching to seal. In a small bowl, mix the brown sugar with the 2 tablespoons of flour, butter and cinnamon until crumbly. Without packing, spoon mixture into the open spaces of the latticework. Place pie on baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 375 degrees F. and bake for 30 to 35 minutes more or until the crust is golden. During baking, baste occasionally with juices taht run over and reserved liquid. Cool on rack for 2 hours and serve with Chantilly Cream, to which grated orange peel, orange juice and brandy have been added.
PASTRY: 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour Sift together first 4 ingredients into a medium bowl. Add butter and shortening, and rub with fingertips until mixture resembles coarse meal. Stir in enough water, a tablespoon at a time, until dough begins to come together. Gather dough into a ball, divide in half, and flatten each half into a disk. Wrap separately in plastic and refrigerate at least 30 minutes. Roll out 1 piece of dough and line a 9 inch pie plat. Roll out remaining piece into a 10 inch circle; refrigerate both pieces while you make the filling. FILLING: 6 cups Granny Smith apples, cored, peeled and sliced 1/8 inch thick Preheat oven to 350 degree's F. in a large bowl, combine apples, sugar, spices, flour and lemon juice. Mix well and transfer to pie shell. Mound high in the middle of shell because apples will shrink during cooking. Dot with butter. Cover with second pastry circle, and seal and crimp edges. Make several vents in the top crust to allow steam to escape during baking. Bake for 45 minutes or until crust is golden.
2/3 cup sugar Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In the top of a double boiler, combine sugar, flour and salt over boiling water. Add cream and stir for 10 minutes or until mixture thickens; remove from heat. Stirring constantly, pour half of the hot cream into the egg yolks. Return egg yolks to the rest of the cream mixture and cook until thickened. Remove from heat; sir in butter and vanilla. Cool slightly. While mixture is cooling, place a layer of vanilla wafers on the bottom of a casserole dish. Alternate wafers with layers of banana slices and cooled pudding mixture, ending with pudding on top. Add a Meringue topping if so desired. Spread on top and bake 10 to 15 minutes or until golden brown. MERINGUE TOPPING: 2 egg whites Whip egg whites until they hold a peak without being dry; add cream of tartar. By hand, beat in the vanilla extract and sugar.
1/3 cup butter Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cream together sugar,lemon peel, cinnamon,milk.Slowly beat in eggs until fluffy. Beat in lemon juice. Stir together dry ingredients. Stir dry mixture into wet mixture. Fold in apples, raisins and nuts. Grease and lightly flour 1 loaf pan or 3 mini loaf pans. Fill pans about 2/3 full. Bake 40 to 45 minutes. Place on rack to cool.
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