FROM THE KITCHEN OF: Barbara Wilbur

Now that we know the teams heading to Dallas for the Super Bowl, it’s time to turn our attention to the menu for the day! And since the Black-Eyed Peas will be performing at the halftime show, it seems only appropriate to serve up a little, you got it, Black-Eyed Pea Dip. This yummy recipe is from fellow Nashvillian, Barbara Wilbur, and this is what she has to say about it!

My family couldn’t have our New Year’s Eve party without the Black-eyed Pea Dip!

This recipe was served at the 1987 Nashville Heart of Country Antiques Show preview party and is a delicious treat no matter what the time of year.

BOOK TITLE: American Country Cooking

BOOK AUTHOR: Mary Emmerling

RECIPE:

1 10-oz. package frozen black-eyed peas OR 2/3 cup dried black-eyed peas, soaked overnight  (I use a few more peas)
8 bacon slices
½ cup finely chopped onion
2 cups sour cream
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

In saucepan with 1½ to 2 cups boiling water, add peas with 2 slices bacon (I use 1 chicken bouillon cube instead of bacon) and add water to cover.  Bring to boil again over high heat; reduce heat to low and simmer about 40/45 minutes.  Do not over cook.  Strain peas and bacon; if used, discard bacon.

Meanwhile, fry remaining 6 slices of bacon.  Drain on paper towels, crumble, and set aside.   Sometimes I add an additional slice or two of bacon.

Put peas and 2 Tbs. reserved pea liquid in food processor and puree.  Add more liquid, as needed, and process until peas are pureed and smooth; the mixture should be thick, not runny.

Scrape puree into bowl and stir in crumbled bacon, onion, sour cream, lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste.  (Best if left to sit app. 24 hours in refrigerator before serving.)

Makes about 3 cups.  Enjoy!!!

FROM THE KITCHEN OF Rachel Unkefer

In the summer of 2010, I had the honor of participating in Steve Yarbrough’s fiction workshop at the Sewanee Writers’ Conference. To become acquainted with his work, I read “The Oxygen Man,” Steve’s first novel. My only regret was having waited until 2010 to read it. Daze, one of the main characters, reminisces at one point about her mother making hush puppies to go along with the catfish she caught with her father.

Famous Tar Heel Hushpuppies

The novel for which I’m currently seeking an agent, “A Useful Life,” has an encounter between German-Jewish immigrants in Memphis in the mid-nineteenth century and southern food. Now that I think of it, maybe I should let my characters enjoy some hush puppies too.

Growing up in Ohio, I wasn’t well-acquainted with southern cuisine, until the winter I was eight, when we were driving home from a Florida vacation and decided to visit my Great-Aunt Ila and Uncle Bill in Black Mountain, North Carolina. In those days, before the Weather Channel, travelers could encounter unexpected blizzards, and that’s what happened to us in the mountains near Asheville.

We got stuck trying to turn onto an unplowed road and had to leave our car to trudge for what seemed like miles through several feet of snow. We were dressed for Florida weather, my six-year-old sister and I in dresses and Mary Janes with white cotton socks. At one point she sat down in the snow and refused to take another step, so my father dragged her the rest of the way.

When we finally made it to the house, we were soaked and had barely escaped frostbite. My great-aunt Ila gave us old-lady cotton stockings to pull onto our legs and wrapped us in blankets. While we waited for our flesh to thaw, she fried up some hush puppies to warm us up from the inside. The only other hush puppies I ever had to rival Aunt Ila’s were at Parker’s Restaurant in Durham when I was in college at Duke.

We had a snowstorm this week here in Virginia, and it made me think of hush puppies. I don’t have Great-Aunt Ila’s recipe, but I found this one from The Sanitary Fish Market and Restaurant in Morehead City, North Carolina.

BOOK TITLE:
The Oxygen Man

BOOK AUTHOR:
Steve Yarbrough

RECIPE:

1 lb fine corn meal
1 egg
1 Tablespoon salt
1 Tablespoons Sugar
Pinch soda1 Cup buttermilk
Stir, adding water, to thick consistency. Drop in deep fat [preferably Duke’s Peanut Oil}. Cook in temperature of 375 degrees. Recipe serves six. Enjoy!

FROM THE KITCHEN OF: Paige Crutcher

I always come home to this book. The romance of the darkness, the inviting imagery  of a cemetery playground, the vast array of friendly, genius fools…this novel always steals my heart.

Try this recipe for great-tastin grits with a dash of mystery

BOOK TITLE: Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil
BOOK AUTHOR: John Berendt
RECIPE:

Lady Chablis’ Grits
(This recipe may, or may not, have been lifted from Alton Brown-a good Southern girl never tells -just sayin’)

Ingredients:
•2 cups whole milk (do not try buttermilk!)
•2 cups water
•1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
•1 cup coarse ground cornmeal
•1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
•4 tablespoons unsalted butter
•4 ounces sharp Cheddar, shredded (More cheese is never a bad thing)

Directions:

Place the milk, water, and salt into a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Once the milk mixture comes to a boil, gradually add the cornmeal while continually whisking. Once all of the cornmeal has been incorporated, decrease the heat to low and cover. Remove lid and whisk frequently, every 3 to 4 minutes, to prevent grits from sticking or forming lumps; make sure to get into corners of pot when whisking. Cook for 20 to 25 minutes or until mixture is creamy.
Remove from the heat, add the pepper and butter, and whisk to combine. Once the butter is melted, gradually whisk in the cheese a little at a time. Serve immediately.

ACTUALLY FROM THE KITCHEN OF: Babs Young Behar with a little help from Paul Deen

Unpacking our Christmas decorations this weekend, we pulled out our favorite holiday books.  HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS is favorite classic.  At this time of year in Who-ville they are feasting on Who-roast-beast, so I found my favorite Paula Deen pot roast recipe to share.  It’s delicious, smells divine and will warm you on a cold winter’s day.  Great with rice or mashed potatoes.  Serve with a Who-pudding of your choice to complete the Who-feast.  Enjoy!

A Who-Ville Feast This Holiday Season!

BOOK TITLE: How the Grinch Stole Christmas
BOOK AUTHOR: Dr. Seuss
RECIPE:

1 (3-pound )chuck roast
Paula Deen House seasoning-or mix 1 T. salt, 1/4 T. pepper and  1/4 T. garlic powder-use only what is needed
1/4 c. vegetable oil
1 onion, sliced thin
3 bay leaves
3-4 bouillon cubes, crushed
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup Chardonnay

Season chuck roast and brown well in skillet with vegetable oil.  Place in crock pot and add rest of ingredients.  Add water to cover all.  Cook on low for 8 hours.