A Love Affair with Southern Cooking (43 page)

Roux Mixture

2 tablespoons lard, bacon drippings, or vegetable oil

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 medium yellow onion, moderately finely chopped

1 medium green bell pepper, cored, seeded, and finely diced

1 large celery rib, trimmed and finely diced

2 cups water

4 ounces bulk sausage meat

4 ounces tasso (spicy cold-smoked pork) or good country ham, finely ground

Rice Mixture

2 tablespoons lard, bacon drippings, or vegetable oil

1 large garlic clove, minced

1 small yellow onion, moderately coarsely chopped

1 large celery rib, trimmed and finely diced

¼ to ½ teaspoon ground hot red pepper (cayenne), depending on how “hot” you like things

¼ teaspoon black pepper

2½ cups (1 pound) converted rice

5 cups rich chicken broth

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/
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cup thinly sliced green scallion tops

¼ cup minced Italian parsley

3 tablespoons butter

• 1.
  For the roux mixture: Melt the lard in a medium-size heavy saucepan over moderately low heat, blend in the flour, and cook, stirring often, for about 30 minutes or until as red as iron rust. If at any time the roux threatens to burn, reduce the heat to its lowest point.
  
• 2.
  Stir in the onion, bell pepper, and celery, and cook and stir for about 5 minutes or until limp. Add the water, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat so the mixture bubbles gently. Simmer uncovered for 40 to 45 minutes or until the roux mixture is only 1 inch deep.
  
• 3.
  For the rice mixture: While the roux reduces, melt the lard in a large, heavy saucepan over moderate heat. Add the garlic, onion, celery, cayenne, and black pepper and cook, stirring often, for about 5 minutes or until the vegetables are limp. Add the rice, and cook and stir for 3 minutes more.
  
• 4.
  Raise the burner heat to moderately high, add the broth, and as soon as it boils, reduce the heat and simmer uncovered for 15 minutes. Stir well, cover, and cook 5 to 10 minutes more or until the rice has absorbed all the liquid.
  
• 5.
  When the roux is nearly done, brown the sausage and tasso in a small, heavy skillet over moderately high heat for 3 to 4 minutes, breaking up large clumps. Mix into the reduced roux and reserve.
  
• 6.
  Stir the scallion tops, parsley, and butter into the rice mixture, and as soon as the butter melts, fold in the reserved roux mixture.
  
• 7.
  Transfer the dressing to a large heated bowl and serve as an accompaniment to roast turkey or capon.
  

PICNIC POTATO SALAD

MAKES
8
TO
10
SERVINGS

No southern picnic, family reunion, or church supper would be complete without this simple potato salad. Often a couple of finely diced celery ribs are added to the mix and sometimes a little chopped green or red bell pepper as well. But the southern cooks I know stick to the recipe below. In the old days, all-purpose potatoes went into the salad, but I prefer the sweeter “red-skins.” Note:
Duke’s is the sandwich spread Southerners would use here. It was developed early in the twentieth century by Eugenia Duke of Greenville, South Carolina (see box, Chapter 4).

4 pounds large red-skin potatoes, cooked until firm-tender, peeled, and cubed

6 large hard-cooked eggs, peeled and coarsely chopped

1 medium yellow onion, coarsely chopped

2 cups (1 pint) mayonnaise-relish sandwich spread (see Note at left)

3 tablespoons prepared yellow mustard (it should be “taxicab” yellow)

2 tablespoons milk (about)

1 tablespoon cider vinegar

2 teaspoons celery seeds

1½ teaspoons salt, or to taste

½ teaspoon black pepper, or to taste

• 1.
  Place the potatoes, eggs, and onion in a very large bowl and toss gently to mix.
  
• 2.
  Whisk all remaining ingredients together in a small bowl or 1-quart measure, pour over the potato mixture, and toss well. If the salad seems dry, add 1 to 2 tablespoons more milk. Also taste for salt and pepper and adjust as needed.
  
• 3.
  Cover and refrigerate the salad 2 to 3 hours before serving.
  

The courthouse square was covered with picnic parties sitting on newspapers, washing down biscuits and syrup with warm milk from fruit jars. Some people were gnawing on cold chicken and cold fried pork chops. The more affluent chased their food with drugstore Coca-Cola.

—
HARPER LEE
,
TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD

SWEET POTATO SALAD

MAKES
8
TO
10
SERVINGS

North Carolina tops all other states when it comes to sweet potato production, so it’s scarcely surprising that local chefs are constantly devising new ways to prepare them. And none, to my mind, is more inventive than Ben Barker, who with wife Karen owns Durham’s award-winning Magnolia Grill. I’ve profiled the Barkers many times (for
Bon Appétit, Food & Wine, More
),
and among the recipes that I remember with particular fondness is Ben’s twenty-four-karat sweet potato salad. Although an earlier version of it appeared in a
Food & Wine
article of mine, the recipe here is adapted from the Barkers’s cookbook,
Not Afraid of Flavor
(2002). I find it equally good with cold baked ham, cold roast pork, or grilled, fried, or barbecued chicken. Note:
Barker makes his own pepper relish but tells home cooks it’s okay to use a favorite commercial brand. With its tart oil-based dressing, this salad is perfect for a picnic; it can also be made a day or two in advance but should be brought to room temperature before being served.
Tip:
Mix the parsley in at the last minute; if added earlier, it will discolor.

2 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into ½-inch cubes

1 cup bottled bell pepper relish (see Note above)

1 medium garlic clove, finely minced

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon salt, or to taste

½ teaspoon black pepper, or to taste

¼ cup fruity olive oil

¼ cup coarsely chopped Italian parsley (see Tip at left)

• 1.
  Boil the sweet potatoes in a large, heavy saucepan over moderate heat in just enough lightly salted water to cover for about 10 minutes or until barely tender. Drain well, quick-chill in ice water, then drain well again, and pat dry on paper toweling.
  
• 2.
  Combine the relish, garlic, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, salt, and pepper in a large nonreactive bowl, then add the olive oil in a slow stream, whisking vigorously all the while.
  
• 3.
  Add the sweet potatoes and parsley and toss gently in the dressing. Taste for salt and pepper, adjust as needed, and serve.
  

BLACK-EYED PEA SALAD

MAKES
4
TO
6
SERVINGS

I use frozen black-eyed peas in this popular southern salad for three reasons: They’re available year-round, they taste “fresh,” and they do not disintegrate as dried black-eyed peas so often do when cooked. I simmer the frozen peas no more than 15 to 17 minutes because I like them al dente. This also means that I can use less dressing because firmer black-eyed peas don’t “suck it up” the way softer peas do. Note:
Don’t rush the browning of the bacon; the fat should
render slowly so that the bacon is neither blackened nor bitter.
Tip:
The easiest way to cut bacon into thin strips is to use kitchen shears and snip straight across the stacked slices.

8 thin slices lean, hickory-smoked bacon, cut crosswise into strips ½ inch wide (see Tip above)

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/
₃
cup finely diced red onion (about ½ medium-small)

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/
₃
cup finely diced green bell pepper (about 1 small)

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/
₃
cup finely diced red bell pepper (about 1 small)

One 16-ounce package frozen black-eyed peas, cooked by package directions (see headnote)

Dressing

3 tablespoons corn oil or vegetable oil

2 tablespoons bacon drippings

2 tablespoons cider vinegar, or to taste

1 teaspoon salt, or to taste

½ teaspoon black pepper, or to taste

• 1.
  Brown the bacon slowly in a large, heavy skillet over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally and separating the pieces. This may take as long as 30 minutes, but you can proceed with the salad while the bacon cooks. When all of the fat has rendered out and the bacon is crisp and brown, lift to paper toweling to drain using a slotted spoon. Pour the drippings from the skillet and reserve.
  
• 2.
  Place the onion and bell peppers in a large heatproof bowl and toss well. Drain the cooked black-eyed peas well, then dump at once on top of the vegetable mixture in the bowl and let stand for 10 minutes. The heat of the peas wilts the vegetables slightly and mellows their flavors.
  
• 3.
  Meanwhile, prepare the dressing. Place all ingredients in the skillet in which you browned the bacon, set over moderately high heat, and bring to a boil, scraping any browned bits from the skillet bottom.
  
• 4.
  Pour the boiling dressing over the salad, toss well, and marinate at room temperature for 30 minutes. Taste for vinegar, salt, and pepper and adjust the seasonings as needed.
  
• 5.
  Add the reserved bacon to the salad, toss well, and serve as an accompaniment to chicken prepared any which way—broiled, grilled, fried, roasted. Good, too, with fried fish, especially catfish.
  

Variation

A Black-Eyed Pea Salad for Today:
Prepare as directed but add 1 finely minced large garlic clove to the vegetable mixture in Step 2. In the dressing, substitute 5 tablespoons fine, fruity olive oil for the corn oil and bacon drippings; also use red wine vinegar instead of cider vinegar. Finally, in Step 5, add 1 tablespoon coarsely chopped fresh basil and/or Italian parsley along with the reserved bacon. Toss well and serve.

CORN BREAD SALAD

MAKES
8 TO 10
SERVINGS

I find this zesty salad perfect for a picnic because it can be made ahead of time, it travels well, it feeds an army, and people invariably like it. Use a corn bread mix if you must. Your salad will be better, however, if you take time to bake a batch of corn bread (do it several days ahead so it has time to dry). The corn bread recipe I suggest below provides just the right amount of one-inch corn bread chunks (about eight cups) and, unlike that prepared from a mix, isn’t sweet. Note:
Frugal southern cooks have always saved bacon drippings to use as a seasoning. This salad owes its smoky-meaty flavor to them. If you have no drippings, use those created below and round out the measure with corn or vegetable oil (but don’t expect the salad to be as flavorful). Better yet, make a “southernized” panzanella of the salad by substituting a fruity olive oil.

1 recipe Iron Skillet Corn Bread, baked as directed and cooled (see headnote)

8 ounces hickory-smoked bacon, cut crosswise into strips ½ inch wide

²
/
₃
cup bacon drippings (see Note above)

²
/
₃
cup corn, vegetable, or olive oil

¹
/
₃
cup cider vinegar, or to taste

1 teaspoon salt, or to taste

½ teaspoon black pepper, or to taste

1 large green bell pepper, cored, seeded, and coarsely chopped

1 large red onion, coarsely chopped

4 firm-ripe Roma (Italian plum) tomatoes, cored, seeded, and diced but not peeled