Homemade Old-Fashioned Southern Caramel Frosting

THERE IS A GROUP OF SOUTHERN LADIES, of a certain age, I make a luncheon for every couple of months.  These are the deep south bless-her-heart, yes-mam-no-sir, tea-is-always-sweet, set-a-proper-table, use-your-best-manners, go-to-church-on-Sunday Southern ladies.

I love cooking for them. One reason they are such a joy to cook for is that I don't have to wade through a list of dietary restrictions--low carb, paleo, whole 30, gluten free, clean, vegan, keto, raw, sugar free, nut free, plant based, etc. They are from the "eat what is served and be thankful for it" era. I am free to choose my own menus and I always try to cook things that are delicious, interesting, and provoke memories and discussions.

Recently, I made a cake with an old-fashioned, cooked, caramel icing. They swooned.

This icing has several steps and does take time stirring, mixing, cooking, and caramelizing, Plan to spend some time in the kitchen, and enjoy! It is a true labor of love.

Homemade Caramel Frosting
(Southern Living)
1/3 cup sugar
1 Tbsp. flour
2 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup milk
1 tsp. vanilla

Sprinkle 1/3 cup sugar in a shallow, heavy 3 1/2 quart Dutch oven; cook over medium heat stirring constantly, 3 minutes or until sugar is melted and syrup is light golden brown. (Sugar may clump). Remove from heat.

Stir together 1 Tbsp. flour and 2 1/2 cups sugar in a large saucepan; add milk and bring to a boil over medium-high heat., stirring constantly.

Gradually pour about one fourth hot milk mixture into caramelized sugar, stirring constantly; gradually stir in remaining hot milk mixture until smooth. (Mixture may lump, but continue stirring until smooth).

Cover and cook over low heat about 2 minutes. Increase heat to medium; uncover and cook, without stirring until a candy thermometer reaches 238 degrees (soft ball stage) about 10 minutes. Add butter, stirring until blended. Remove from heat and let stand, without stirring, until temperature drops to 110 degrees (about 1 hour).

Pour into bowl of heavy duty electric stand mixer. Add vanilla and beat at medium speed (setting 4) with whisk attachment until spreading consistency, about 20 minutes.

Sally Lunn Bread

MY LOVE OF VINTAGE RECIPES should come as no surprise to anyone. I have talked about it for years. Here is a short post I wrote about it a few years ago.

I have known Sally Lunn Bread all my life as a Southern recipe. I can remember ladies sitting around my Mother's kitchen table drinking coffee and eating warm slices of this bread with butter and honey or jam, while talking about what ladies talk about.

Sally Lunn bread is a slightly sweet brioche type bread. It is fantastic with pimiento cheese and makes delicious toast. It also freezes beautifully. This is a no knead recipe but it does require two 1-hour risings plus a 25 minute baking time, so allow plenty of time to make it. It is made in a tube pan or bundt pan. The craggy top crust is a result of a very thick and sticky dough and is a signature of this bread.

Sally Lunn Bread
1 package yeast
1/2 cup warm water
1 cup warm milk
1/2 cup softened butter
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp. salt
3 eggs
5 1/2 - 6 cups flour

In mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add the warm milk, butter, sugar, salt, eggs, and 3 cups flour. Beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. Do not knead.

Place dough into a greased bowl, turning to grease the top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.

Stir the dough down and spoon into a greased and floured tube pan. Cover and let rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

Bake at 400 degrees for 25 - 30 minutes until golden brown. Remove from pan onto a clean kitchen towel.

Japanese Fruit Cake

I REMEMBER MY GRANDMOTHER MAKING this lovely celebration cake each year for the holidays. As a girl I thought this was the most impressive and beautiful cake I had ever seen! After my grandmother passed away, the cake stopped appearing at our holiday gatherings.

For years, I asked family members, especially some of the older aunts, if they had the recipe. I searched through old southern cookbooks.

Last summer, because she knows my interest in heirloom recipes, Mama gave me a cookbooklet she had found in some of her aunt's belongings. The booklet was published in 1952 by a community group in Chambers County, Alabama. Imagine my delight when I turned to the cake chapter and there was the recipe for Japanese Fruit Cake!

 I have no idea why this cake has such a mysterious name. I don't believe it is remotely Japanese and it is not a fruit cake in the traditional sense. The fruits in the cake are coconut, lemon, and raisins. There are two moist and fluffy yellow layers and two spice layers with pecans, raisins, cinnamon and allspice. The cake is topped with a luscious lemony coconut glaze.

I loved making this cake!

Japanese Fruit Cake
3 cups cake flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup chopped raisins
1 cup chopped pecans
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp. allspice
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Generously butter and flour four 8-inch cake pans.

Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. In another bowl, combine the chopped raisins, pecans, cinnamon, and allspice.

I mixing bowl, combine butter and sugar; beat with mixer to combine them well. Add eggs one and a time, beating after each addition, to make a smooth, fluffy mixture.

Stir the vanilla into the milk. Add about half the flour mixture, the half the milk, beating at low speed just until combined. Repeat with remaining flour mixture and milk.

Divide half the batter between 2 of the pans. Stir the raisin and spice mixture into the remaining batter. Divide this mixture between the remaining 2 pans. Set all 4 pans in the oven.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes, until the layers are golden brown, pulling away from the sides of the pans, and spring back when touched lightly in the center. Cool the cakes on wire racks for 10 minutes, and then turn them out onto the wire racks to cool completely, top side up.

Lemon Coconut Icing
1 cup water
2 cups sugar
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 Tbsp. grated lemon zest
3 1/2 cups (approx.) frozen shredded coconut
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
1/2 cup water

In heavy, medium saucepan, bring 1 cup water to a boil over medium heat. Stir in the sugar, lemon juice and zest, and the coconut. Bring to a boil. Adjust heat to maintain a gentle boil, and cook for 7 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir cornstarch into the 1/2 cup water, stir well and add to the pan, mixing to dissolve. Simmer for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring often, until thickened and clear. Transfer to a bowl and cool to room temperature, stirring from time to time.

To assemble the cake, place a plain layer, top side down, on a cake stand, or serving plate. Poke little holes all over and spread about one fourth of the icing over the layer, spreading all the way to the edges. Place a spice layer over the icing and spread another 1/4 of the icing. Continue layering with the remaining layers and icing. Place the last spice layer, right side up and pour all the remaining icing over the layer so that some of the icing cascades down the sides of the cake. Let stand for several hours, then cover and refrigerate overnight. Remove cake from refrigerator about 1 hour before serving.

Hush Puppies

LITTLE SAVORY BALLS OF CORNMEAL BATTER, Hush Puppies are so delicious with so many meals. No Southern fish fry would be complete without them. All the barbecue joints around here serve them. I was once at a restaurant that had hush puppies with pimiento cheese as an appetizer and that was tasty!

I serve hush puppies with all sorts of foods. I especially love them with braised greens. I made these to serve with a vegetable soup. They are great with chili. Any time you think of cornbread, think hush puppies instead.

I have never posted the recipe for my hush puppies but you have probably seen them pepping around the corner in some of my photographs. My puppies are never perfect balls because I don't deep fry them, I pan fry them in my black iron skillet.

These hush puppies are fluffy and tender inside and crisp and crunchy outside. And they are delicious, even if they are misshapen.

Hush Puppies
1 cup self-rising corn meal
1 egg
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup minced sweet onion
1 Tbsp. hot melted shortening

Place corn meal in a mixing bowl. Stir in well beaten egg and buttermilk. Add hot shortening and minced onion just before cooking. Drop by spoonfuls into hot oil. Cook until golden brown on each side. 

Braised Collard Greens

COLLARD GREENS ARE A STAPLE IN THE SOUTH.  All our barbecue restaurants offer them as a side choice. Diners with a meat-and-three type menu will have them. Our children start eating collard greens when they are still in the high chair.

Whenever we have family gatherings, I am volunteered to cook the collards. I am told mine are the best but I often wonder if it is really the fact that I am willing. They are a bit of work. It is work I enjoy; I love to cook, including washing and chopping vegetables with my good cutting board and my excellent sharp knife.

To prepare the collards for cooking, they must be washed and chopped. Some people prefer tearing them and that works just fine. I use a knife. First I cut out the tough inner stem, I stack a few leaves, roll them (a chiffonade if you  will) and slice into strips. I then put them into a sink fulll of cold water. Swish the leaves all around then let them sit for a few minutes. Feel the bottom of the sink. If you feel grit, remove the greens, drain the sink, and rinse away the sand. Refill the sink and rinse the collards again. Repeat until no more grit is detected.

I find the process to be mindful, contemplative, and relaxing.

We serve our collard greens with pepper sauce and by that I don't mean a hot sauce such as Tabasco. Pepper sauce is basically hot peppers and vinegar. If unavailable, just sit a cruet of apple cider vinegar on the table. 

Braised Collard Greens

1 1/2 pounds fresh collard greens, large stems removed, washed, and chopped

3 Tbsp. olive oil

1 large sweet onion, chopped

3 - 4 cloves garlic, chopped

1 1/2 cups water

Salt and pepper - be generous

Using a large pan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add chopped onion and saute until tender. Stir in the garlic and cook for a few seconds. Start adding the wet collard greens until the pot is full. Add the water; cover pan and simmer for a few minutes until the greens start cooking down then add the remaining greens.

Simmer until tender but not mushy, about 30 - 50 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Low Country Chicken Bog

CHICKEN BOG IS NOT A LOVELY DISH and it has an even less lovely name. Once you get past those factors, you will find a delicious and oh so comforting recipe for chicken and rice. It is rather like a pilaf or pilau but boggier and not fluffy at all. I really think the texture is reminiscent of a risotto. The rice is very creamy and the chicken is moist, tender, and flavorful.

Chicken bog is an old favorite in low country regions where rice is grown. It originates from the Pee Dee region of South Carolina, the lower watershed of the Pee Dee River, which was named for the Native American tribe that formerly occupied the area.   

This has been especially warming for us as we struggle with the arctic blast which has us in its grip. We are not used to cold temperatures like we are having, for such a length of time. Brrr!

Chicken Bog
1 (approximately 2 1/2 pounds) whole chicken
1 pound smoked sausage, sliced
1 medium onion, diced
2 - 3 celery stalks, sliced
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. freshly cracked black pepper
1/2 - 1 tsp. cayenne pepper
3 bay leaves
8 cups water
1 1/2 cups long grain white rice

Place chicken, sausage, onion, celery, butter, salt, both peppers, and bay leaves into your large soup pan. Add water and bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer, partially covered, for 40 minutes. Remove chicken from pan and set aside to cool. Remove and discard bay leaves. Add rice and cook 10 minutes, uncovered. Then cover and cook another 20 minutes, until rice is tender. Meanwhile, remove skin and bones from chicken and discard. Add chicken pieces back to the pot.

Classic Homemade Pimiento Cheese

THE AUGUSTA NATIONAL GOLF CLUB in beautiful Augusta, Georgia is hosting the most prestigious tournament in the U.S., The Masters, this week. My husband and I are not golfers but we have family that are crazy about the game. And we have family living in Augusta, including 4-year-old twin boys, Twin A and Twin B (as they were labeled on their ultrasound).

A & B at their first Masters

The Masters is famous for their food, especially the egg salad and pimiento cheese sandwiches, which at $1.50 each are cheap. At least something about the Masters is cheap. When we were in Augusta last month for the twin's 4th birthday, we paid about $100 per night for our hotel room. For that same hotel, during the Masters, the rooms start at $650 per night with a 4 night minimum.

Twin B "enjoying" an egg salad sandwich?

The chips seem to be a bigger hit

In honor of A & B's first Masters, I decided to make Pimiento Cheese, which like all Southerners, I love.

There are many variations on this humble spread. Everyone seems agree with the three main ingredients; cheese, mayonnaise, and pimiento. Then differences kick in. All types of cheese can be considered. The texture is up for much debate. Some use a mixer or blender to achieve a completely smooth product. More mayonnaise or less? Cream cheese? Then there are add-ins, onion, Worcestershire sauce, olives, jalapeno peppers, the list goes on.


Although I will tamper with the ingredients, depending on what I have on hand, I remain, for the most part, a purist. I don't enjoy mayonnaise, so I use as little as possible, and include the pimiento juice, along with some mustard for extra moisture. I insist that for the best finished product, good quality, extra sharp cheddar cheese must be used, and must be hand grated. If you have the cheese at room temperature before grating, you can get a better idea of the final texture, rather than working with cold cheese. I mix by hand, minimally, because I like the chunky, homemade look. If you want your Pimiento Cheese fluffier or creamier, go right ahead, add more mayonnaise and mix it more vigorously, it will still be delicious.

Classic Homemade Pimiento Cheese
16 oz. sharp cheddar cheese, grated
4 oz. jar chopped pimiento, undrained
1 Tbsp. dijon mustard
1/4 c. to 1/2 c. good quality mayonnaise
Freshly ground black pepper or cayenne, to taste


Mix all ingredients together until desired consistency, starting with the lesser amount of mayonnaise.

A & B watching the putters

Southern Salmon Croquettes

SALMON CROQUETTES ARE SOUTHERN PATTIES made with canned salmon which is cheap affordable and nutritious. Most of all it is delicious. Salmon croquettes are very popular in soul food cookery where they are generally served for breakfast with grits and scrambled eggs. It is also very popular to serve these croquettes with hot, fluffy, white rice.

I like mine with macaroni and cheese and a fresh vegetable, this time it was ripe summer tomato slices.

I really love these patties and every time I make them I question myself about why I don't do it more often. Kids love them too. They are very easy to make. I use my black iron skillet and very little oil, so there isn't even that "fried food" messiness. The only drawback is that the aroma is very, um, assertive. Pritchard Parker knew what we were having for supper before he even got in the house.

Any brand of canned salmon will work and some people even use canned mackerel, which is even less expensive, yet still has all the great nutrients.

I open the can and pour out all but about 1/2 cup of the liquid, and dump the remaining contents into a bowl. Some people like to remove the bones, but I don't.  They are very fragile, basically disintegrate in the process, and are an excellent source of calcium.

Salmon croquettes are sometimes served with tartar sauce but the child in me likes them with ketchup.

Salmon Croquettes
1 (14 oz.) can salmon
1 egg, lightly beaten
Juice of half a lemon
1 tsp. old bay seasoning. or more to taste
salt and pepper to taste
1/3 to 1/2 cup, as needed, cornmeal mix

Drain all but about 1/2 cup of the juice from the salmon. Pour the remaining contents into a bowl and flake with a fork. Add egg, lemon juice, old bay, and salt and pepper. Stir to combine and add 1/3 cup of cornmeal mix. Mix and add more cornmeal, if needed so patties can be formed.

Pour a coating of oil (I use peanut) into a heavy skillet and heat over medium heat. Add the patties and brown on each side. Remove to paper towels to drain.

Baked Cheese Grits with Rotel Tomatoes

AS SOUTHERNERS, WE LOVE GRITS. I cook them often, in all sorts of ways. After I made this dish, I realized I had posted only one other grits recipe, ever, here on my blog. That was all the way back in 2009 when I posted Shrimp and Grits, an amazing and delicious recipe.

You know Ro*Tel tomatoes, right? The cans of diced tomatoes with green chilies? They have been around forever, have the perfect amount of heat, and are delicious to use in so many ways. They are a pantry staple in my kitchen.

The other day, I was shopping at the gigantic grocery store, with Rotel tomatoes on my list. On the shelf I saw there are now 6 different types of Rotel tomatoes. Arrgh! Marketing strikes again. I don't mean to beat up on Rotel tomatoes; I love them. But it is the same thing with everything on my list. For every item, I have too many decisions to make. This is why the stores are so huge and shopping takes so long. On some levels choices are good but I don't always want to walk the equivalent of a city block and comb through undesired products, when I only have 8 items on my list.

Baked Cheese Grits with Rotel Tomatoes
2 cups water
1 1/4 cups milk
1 tsp. salt
1 cup stone ground grits
1/2 cup butter
1/3 cup scallions, sliced
1/4 cup Velveeta, cubed
2 1/2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded, divided
1 (14 oz.) can Rotel tomatoes

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9 x 9 inch baking dish.

In a saucepan, bring the water and milk to a boil. Add the salt and slowly add the grits and return to a boil, stirring constantly for 1 minute. Reduce heat, cover, and cook for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

When grits are thickened, stir in the butter, scallions, Velveeta and 2 cups shredded cheddar. Stir until cheese is melted then stir in the tomatoes, mixing well. Pour grits into prepared dish and bake for 35 minutes. Sprinkle on the remaining cheddar and bake 5 minutes more.

Remove from oven and let it sit for 10 minutes before serving.

Baby Kale and Black-Eyed Peas Salad with Bacon Vinaigrette

EARLIER TODAY, WE HAD A POWER OUTAGE. I have no idea why--the weather is beautiful and perfect.

I thought of the day when Alice was pregnant and needed to have a 3-hour glucose tolerance test. I went along with her to keep her company (and calm; she hates needles) while the time passed. While we were there, the medical office had a power outage. One worker said to another, "Someone must'a hit a pole".  We couldn't stop giggling! And to this day every time we loose electricity, that's what we say. It is what I thought this morning.

Meanwhile, I was working on this post and now I'm back at it. I got this lovely recipe from my Mother. She had enjoyed it at a ladies luncheon and I'm pretty sure the recipe came from Southern Living Magazine.

Baby Kale and Black-Eyed Peas Salad with Bacon Vinaigrette
10 slices thick smoked bacon
1 (16 oz.) package frozen black-eyed peas
3 cups water or broth
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
2 cloves garlic, smashed
1 spring thyme
1 1/2 tsp. salt, divided
1 cup thinly sliced sweet yellow onion
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
2 tsp. brown sugar
2 tsp. Dijon mustard
1/4 cup olive oil
1 cup loosely packed fresh parsley leaves
5 oz. baby kale
8 oz. mini sweet peppers, thinly sliced

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place bacon in a single layer on a wire rack in a rimmed baking pan. Bake 20 minutes or until crisp,. Reserve 3 Tbsp. plus tsp. drippings.

Stir together peas, water or broth, black pepper, garlic, thyme, 1/2 tsp. salt, and 2 tsp. bacon drippings in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat to medium, and simmer, stirring occasionally, about 20 minutes or until peas are tender. Drain peas and discard thyme and garlic.

Saute onion in remaining 3 Tbsp. hot drippings in a large skillet over medium heat 1 minute. Stir in vinegar, brown sugar, mustard, and 1 tsp. salt. Cook, stirring constantly, 30 seconds or until smooth and slightly thickened. Gradually add oil, stirring constantly. Stir in peas. and cook until thoroughly heated.

Toss together the parsley and kale in a large bowl. Top with peppers and warm peas mixture. Sprinkle with chopped bacon and parsley. Serve immediately.

New Orleans Red Beans and Rice

NO MATTER HOW YOU MAKE IT, Red Beans and Rice will always be a New Orleans legacy. Although today is Mardi Gras, I made this dish yesterday, Monday, which is the traditional day it is served in both homes and restaurants. According to legend, ham was typically served for Sunday dinner. Monday, laundry day, the leftovers were used to flavor a pot of beans which could simmer all day while the clothes were being scrubbed.

(I am so thankful for my washer and dryer).

There is no set recipe for this dish, but a few things are traditional. Some kind of smoky meat is used to flavor the beans, be it ham, tasso, bacon, fatback, ham hock, sausage. Red beans, dark red kidney beans, and light red kidney beans are all fine here. I used the latter. The trinity is always used--onion, celery, bell pepper, along with typical creole flavorings of thyme, bay leaves, and cayenne pepper.

Allow plenty of time to cook the beans, most of which is hands off time. In the end, you want the vegetables to have melted into a creamy sauce.























New Orleans Red Beans and Rice
1 pound dried red beans, inspected and soaked overnight
2 quarts water
1 meaty ham bone or a thick slice of ham cut into cubes
1 bunch scallions, including green tops
1 green pepper
2 stalks celery
3 medium onions
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
4 bay leaves
Cayenne pepper to taste
Salt to taste
Hot white rice to serve

Rinse beans and put into a big, heavy pot. Add water and ham. Set uncovered on a burner at medium heat. While the beans are warming, chop and add scallions, green pepper, celery and onions. Then add thyme and bay leaves.

When the mixture boils, reduce heat and cover. Stir every 20 - 30 minutes for three hours. Then, with a wooden spoon, mash about one-fourth of the beans against the side of the pot. If they don't mash easily, try again after half an hour.

Forty minutes after mashing the beans, taste and season with cayenne pepper, but don't use too much; this is supposed to be delicious but subtly flavored. Continue to cook while preparing white rice.

Ladle beans and sauce over the rice and serve. It's hard to believe, but all the vegetables cook away to nothing. The mashed beans thicken the sauce to a creamy consistency.

Even more flavorful rewarmed after a night in the refrigerator.























PS. New Orleans is a city near and dear to my heart. And yes, I have been there during a Mardi Gras season.

Home-Style Butterbeans

SOUTHERN CUISINE HAS A REPUTATION for being unhealthy. While it is true that Southerners love fried food (who doesn't) one point that is often overlooked is that Southerners love vegetables. Sure, your Southern Grandmother may have put a ham hock in with the pot of beans, but that was often the only meat on the table.

Poor butterbeans (or lima beans) are one of the most maligned vegetables and one of my favorites. I recently made these beans as a side dish with our dinner. For lunch the next day, I split a slice of cornbread and heaped these butterbeans over it. Even better. As you can see from the photos, I like a lot of black pepper on my butterbeans.

Home-Style Butterbeans
5 slices bacon, diced
1 onion, minced
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 (16 oz.) package frozen butterbeans (may substitute baby lima beans)
1/4 cup butter
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
12 cups water

Cook bacon and onion in a large Dutch oven over medium heat 5 to 7 minutes. Add brown sugar, and cook, stirring occasionally, 1 to 2 minutes or until sugar is dissolved. Sitr in butterbeans and butter until butter is melted and beans are thoroughly coated. Stir in 12 cups water.

Bring to a boil over medium-high heat; reduce heat to low, and simmer, stirring occasionally, 2 hours or until beans are very tender and liquid is thickened and just below top of beans. Stir in salt and pepper.

Cheesy Garlic Butter and Angel Biscuits

OUR RESIDENT FIVE-YEAR-OLD, loves helping me in the kitchen. She especially likes baking. Because she was out of school Monday, for Martin Luther King Day, I thought it would be a perfect day to make a batch of Angel Biscuits. We were having a Tomato Soup for dinner and I thought the biscuits would be delicious with it.

Especially with the Cheesy Garlic Butter we made. My blogging friend Melynda, from Our Sunday Cafe, recently posted a recipe which originated in a now closed but once popular restaurant in Portland, Oregon. I adapted the recipe to our tastes.

We have eaten all the biscuits, but we still have some of the cheesy garlic butter. Tonight, we will be having some on French Bread.

Cheesy Garlic Butter
1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter
8 oz. extra sharp cheddar cheese, freshly grated
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 tsp. (more to taste) cayenne pepper

Have cheese and butter at room temperature. Beat all ingredients with a mixer, beginning at low speed and increasing speed, until the mixture is light and fluffy.

Angel Biscuits
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 Tbsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup shortening
1 packet yeast, dissolved in 1/4 cup warm water
3/4 cup warm buttermilk

Combine all dry ingredients in a large bowl. Cut in shortening until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add yeast mixture and buttermilk; stir to combine. Turn onto a floured surface and fold the dough over itself a few times until all is blended.

Roll out to 3/4 inch thickness, then cut into 2 1/2 inch biscuits. Place biscuits on a baking pan which has been spritzed with cooking spray. Cover and let rise for about 45 minutes.

Bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes until done.

Note: Some cooks skip the rising step and put the biscuits directly into the oven after placing them in the pan. My grandfather could have done it that way, I don't know. I do know from experience, if you let yeast dough have plenty of time to rest and rise, you will be richly rewarded.

Old Fashioned Southern Sweet Potato Pie

There has been much activity lately around this, my beloved Aunt Ruby's sweet potato pie, which I posted 3 years ago.

Can you believe, right here is the midst of pumpkin spice season, this pie uses none? I do love those spices--cinnamon, cloves, ginger, nutmeg, but I don't want everything in this season to taste and smell that way. You know what I mean--pumpkin spice latte, pumpkin spice room spray, pumpkin spice dog biscuits, pumpkin spice scones, pumpkin spice beer, and so much more. . .

You are just a click away from our family Sweet Potato Pie.

Enjoy!

Southern Legacy Green Beans

My Grandmother's Serving Bowl

IF MY GRANDMOTHER WERE ALIVE TODAY I would ask her to cook me some of her well loved green beans. As you can see, these beans are cooked to smithereens. It has taken me years to get them right and now I am sharing her secrets with you.

These beans are intensely flavored--practically a bean butter. Think apple to apple sauce to apple butter. That is the concept.

After inquiring about these beans repeatedly over the years, it was a recent conversation with my Mother, when she said that her Mother would put on the green beans right after breakfast, to have for supper that evening, that I had my Aha! moment. I had been told to put the beans in a big pot, add in a piece of fatback, cover with water and cook. That was it. The detail that wasn't revealed was the fact that the beans were literally cooked for hours. Hours.

My Grandmother's Table Cloth

 I cooked these beans as part of a summer vegetable plate, as was tradition in my family. To this day, there is nothing I love eating more than a plate of well prepared, flavorful vegetables. I have been eating these vegetables for two meals each day for three days in a row. Heavenly.

As the beans, squash, corn, field peas, okra, and tomatoes were spent, greens would be planted. In fall, the turnip greens, collards, sweet potatoes, and pumpkins would begin appearing on plates instead of the summer crops.

My Grandmother's beans cannot be made with the blue lake type green bean typically found year round in grocery stores. A good stout bean is needed. These are half runners which are an heirloom bean. You definitely don't want to steam these for five minutes and serve. Even if you don't want to caramelize them as I have done, they still need a good long cooking time to achieve tenderness.

You need to snap these beans and string them. Some people even call them snap beans. And when I say string beans, you can see what I mean. If you ever sit down before a serving of beans that have not been properly stringed--well, let's just say it is not pleasant. And the snapping helps to get hold of the strings for pulling to remove.

Rinse very thoroughly.

The vendor called this "side meat". My Grandmother always called it streak o' lean.  It is like slab bacon that has been cured but not smoked. It is salt cured, so don't add any salt to your beans. I have known cooks to use lard instead, or even a big glug of vegetable shortening. If I wanted to keep the concentrated bean flavor more on the healthy and vegetarian side, I would use coconut oil. Of course you would need to add salt then.

Southern Legacy Green Beans
3 - 4 pounds heirloom green beans, snapped and strings removed
2 - 3 oz. streak o' lean, salt pork, fatback, lard, or other fat of choice
Salt if not using salt-cured meat
Water

Put prepared green beans in a large, heavy pot. Add streak o' lean. Cover the beans with water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a steady simmer and partially cover. Cook for several hours, adding more water as needed. Do not add more salt--the salt added in the beginning is still there, it is only the water that cooks away.