Sweet Onion Cornbread, Cabbage and Conecuh sausage, and Fruited Mint Tea

Sweet Onion Cornbread

Background of Cornbread:

• Cornbread dates back to the Native Americans.
• There are many kinds of cornbread including blue cornbread made with blue cornmeal and Mexican cornbread which did not actually originate in Mexico but in Texas where peppers were used in many dishes.
• Northern cornbread is known to be sweeter and have more of a cake-like texture while Southern cornbread has little to no sugar and crumbles easily. 
• Variations such as adding onion, jalapeno peppers, and eating cornbread with pinto beans is a particularly southwestern tradition. 

Recipe:

2 cups finely chopped onion

1/4 cup butter melted

1 1/2 cup self-rising

2 tbsp. sugar

1/4 tsp. dillweed 

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (2 cups, 1 cup to sprinkle over top)

2 eggs well beaten 

1/4 cup milk 

1/4 cup vegetable oil 

1 8 oz. sour cream 

1 can cream-style corn 

1 dash of hot sauce 

Saute chopped onion in melted butter in a large skillet until onion is tender and set aside.

Combine cornmeal, sugar, and dillweed in a large bowl. Add sauteed onion, 1/2 cup cheddar cheese (1 cup), beaten eggs, milk, vegetable oil, sour cream, cream-style corn, and dash of hot sauce, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened. 

Spoon mixture into a greased 10 inch cast iron skillet (or two regular tin pans). Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. Sprinkle cornbread evenly with remaining 1/2 cup cheddar cheese (1 cup), and bake cornbread an additional 5 minutes. Yield 8 servings.

Cabbage with Conecuh Sausage

Background of Cabbage and Conecuh:

• Cabbage was likely domesticated somewhere in Europe before 1000 B.C. possibly from Ireland
• Conecuh sausage located in Evergreen, AL. in Conecuh county
• Name is derived from Indian term meaning "Land of Cane"

Recipe:

1 pack of Conecuh sausage  

1 Cabbage

Vegetable oil to cover bottom of skillet 

Medium-thin sliced sausage. Layer conecuh sausage into boiler/skillet and keep stirred until brown over medium-high heat. Cut and wash Cabbage. Place cabbage in boiler/skillet with sausage and keep stirred over medium heat until cabbage is tender with light crunch. Enjoy!

Fruited Mint Tea

Background of Fruited Mint Tea:

• In 1795, South Carolina was the first place in the U.S. where tea was grown and is the only state to have ever produced tea commercially. 
• Tea has been served cold at least since 19th ce. 

Recipe:

1 Quart water

5-7 fresh mint sprigs 

8 regular tea bags (4 family size)

2 cups sugar 

1 12oz. can frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed and undiluted

1/3 cup lemon juice (about 2 lemons)

Place water in a saucepan, bring to a boil. Add 7 mint sprigs boil 2 minutes (4-5 minutes). Remove from heat. Add teabags. Cover and let stand 10 minutes (20-30 minutes). Remove mint and tea bags. Stir in sugar.

Combine tea mixture, orange juice concentrate, and lemon juice. Add enough water to make 1 Gallon. Serve 24 hours after making (chilled). 

References: Southern Living Cookbook and Family recipes

Enjoy!! -MeShellai McWilliams

Pound Cake: Created in Europe, Rooted in the South

      

           Pound cakes have long been a southern staple. The recipe my family uses has been handed down for 100 years. The reason that it’s called pound cake is because the original recipe called for a pound of each ingredient. This made a huge cake that was able to serve multiple families. The cake itself is actually a British creation better known as sponge cake, but it is the Southern version of it that has been a source of debate for centuries. The first known cookbook written by an African American, Abbie Fisher, contained 2 recipes of the popular dessert! It was called What Mrs. Fisher Knows About Old Southern Cooking (Stradley).

            This recipe is over a hundred years old and has been handed down in our family from my grandmother, Ida Milton Stewart Webb, who was born in Birmingham, AL in 1887. Ida's father, Jack Stewart, developed an inflammation of the lungs (probably emphysema) which the doctor blamed on Birmingham's sooty air. A repairing lease was recommended in the country, and the family moved from Birmingham to Atmore when Grandmother Ida was a girl. The sideboard with the marble top in our dining room came from Birmingham, and still has soot on the back!  Jack died in Atmore not long after they moved, leaving his wife, Abbie McQueen Stewart, alone and with no means of support. Abbie took in boarders and ran a millinery shop, making hats for women, to put food on the table for her two young girls. The dining room table in our house, which lets out to 22 feet in length when all the leaves are in it, is from Abbie Stewart's boarding house in Atmore. This pound cake recipe was frequently served to boarders as Sunday dessert, along with fresh berries and cream.

Ingredients:

2 sticks butter, softened to room temp.

5 eggs

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Measure 2 cups sugar into a bowl. Sift the sugar three times on wax paper. Beat butter and sugar together in large bowl until creamy. In a separate bowl, beat the 5 eggs until they are light and frothy.

Measure 2 cups of flour. Sift flour three times. (Measure and THEN sift!) 

Add beaten eggs and sifted flour to creamed butter and sugar, alternating, until the mixture is beaten and the flour and the eggs are all added. Add the vanilla and beat thoroughly.

Grease tube pan on all sides and down the middle tube, then dust with flour. (I use about 1/4 cup flour to dust the pan) Shake flour all around the greased pan until all sides are coated, and knock the extra flour into the sink or garbage. 

Add creamed cake mixture to the pan and shake it gently until it is evenly dispersed. 

Bake in a COLD oven at 325 degrees for one hour. DO NOT PREHEAT OVEN. Put the cake in the cold oven and turn it on. This is what makes the yummy crust.

When cake is done, rest the cake pan on a cookie rack or trivet for 30 minutes and then remove cake from pan and cool completely.

References:

Stradley, Linda. "Pound Cake - History of Pound Cake." Pound Cake History, Whats Cooking America. What's Cooking America©, n.d. Web. 09 Feb. 2016.

and my mother!

Moon Pies and Memories

Moon Pies are cultural staples in the South, traditionally consumed with a cold RC Cola or thrown from floats during Mardi Gras parades. But how did this odd chocolate-covered, graham cracker, marshmallow fluff cookie sandwich come about? In the Project Muse article from which I pulled this blog post title, Lee Smith writes, "Earl Mitchell invented the moon pie in 1919 when he worked for the Chattanooga Bakery. While visiting a company store at a coal mine in Kentucky, Mitchell asked miners what kind of cookie they would like in their lunch pails. They said they preferred a big one. Mitchell then asked what size the cookie should be, and the miners pointed to the moon." 

Doug Marlette, a southern author, cartoonist, and (probably) Moon Pie enthusiast, writes that the pies are "part of our marinade", a consistent element of the cultural backdrop as weird, mystical, and somehow still unremarkable as the kudzo or humidity. 

The recipe we used in class follows, although I ended up changing it a little, because what is cooking if not calculated substitutions (full transparency, I also just googled "Moon Pie recipes" and picked the one that looked best to me). I subbed graham cracker crumbs for half of the flour in the cookies and decided I didn't need to buy cream of tartar for the fluff.


Moon pies

For the Cookies:
8 ounces (1 cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature
¾ cup light brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2¼ cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt

For the Marshmallow Filling:
2 egg whites
Pinch cream of tartar
Pinch salt
2/3 cup light corn syrup
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup powdered sugar, sifted

For the Chocolate Coating:
12 ounces semisweet chocolate
¼ cup vegetable oi

DIRECTIONS:

1. To Make the Cookies: With a mixer on medium speed, beat the butter until creamy, about 3 minutes. Add the brown sugar and beat at medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Reduce the speed to medium, add the egg and the vanilla extract, and beat to combine. Reduce the speed to low, add the flour and the salt, and mix just until a soft dough forms. Divide the dough in two, shape into disks, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line at least two baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat; set aside. Working with one disk at a time, roll out the dough to about 1/8-inch thickness. Using a 2½-inch diameter round cutter, cut out the rounds and place them on the prepared baking sheets, about ½ an inch apart. Refrigerate the cookies (on the baking sheets) for 10 minutes.

3. Bake the cookies for 10 to 12 minutes, or until lightly browned. Cool on the pans for a couple of minutes, and then move to a cooling rack to cool completely.

4. To Make the Marshmallow Filling: Using a mixer with the whisk attachment, beat the the egg whites with the cream of tartar and the salt until firm peaks form, gradually increasing from medium-low speed to medium-high speed as the egg whites gain volume. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, boil the corn syrup over high heat without stirring until it registers 230 to 235 degrees F on a candy thermometer (thread ball stage). Slowly drizzle the hot corn syrup into the egg whites and beat at high speed until glossy, about 2 minutes. Reduce the speed to medium-low, beat in the vanilla extract and the powdered sugar.

5. Using either a pastry bag or a spoon, mound about 1½ tablespoons of marshmallow filling into the center of a cookie. Top with another cookie and press lightly to spread the marshmallow to the edges. Add another mound on top of the second cookie, and top with another cookie, again pressing slightly to spread the filling to the edges. Repeat with the rest of the cookies.

6. To Make the Chocolate Coating: Using a double boiler or in the microwave on 50% power and in 30 second increments, melt the chocolate and vegetable oil together until completely smooth. Place the assembled cookies on a wire rack set over a sheet of wax paper. Spoon the melted chocolate over each cookie so that it runs down the sides and covers most of the cookie. Allow to set at room temperature for about 2 hours (or refrigerate to speed up the process). Store in an airtight container at room temperature.

Happy cooking! 
-Madeleine Lewis

Black-eyed Peas and Cornbread

Black-eyed peas and cornbread are a staple in southern food. They are best known for making appearances on New Year's Day to herald good fortune for the New Year. This tradition is believed to have started with the Jewish religion around 500 A.D. They would eat black-eyed peas to show humility to the God during Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. More recently, the tradition carried into southern tradition during the Civil War when the northern troops left the black-eyed peas alone,  believing them to be food for livestock. This oversight allowed many southerners to survive the winters during the Civil War. Now, the peas have come to represent humility and an increase in wealth. The latter idea stems from the peas expanding as they cook. Black-eyed peas, cornbread and some kind of green (collared greens, green beans, mustard greens, turnip greens, etc) represent pennies, gold and dollars, respectively. In addition, some families add a penny or dime to the black-eyed peas and whoever is served it is supposed to receive extra luck.

This is one of my favorite snacks and, in reasonable proportions, is good for you. But who pays attention to proportions when faced with black-eyed peas and cornbread?

Black-eyed Peas
1 bag frozen black-eyed peas (24-32 ounces)
1 can Rotel tomatoes
2-4 slices of bacon
5-10 sharp beans
salt, pepper, and garlic to taste

In a large saucepan, place a few slices of bacon cut into strips in the bottom. Cook until brown. Add black-eyed peas, Rotel tomatoes, and snap beans. Rinse the can with water and add it to the pan. Bring everything to a boil and add salt, pepper, and garlic to taste (about 1 tablespoon of each). Reduce to medium and cook until peas are no longer crunchy (30-45 minutes)


Cornbread
1 egg
2 cups White Lilly Self-Rising White Cornmeal Mix
1 1/4 - 1 1/2 cup Buttermilk
1/4 vegetable oil

Coat pan with oil and place in oven to heat the oil. Mix/whisk egg, cornmeal mix, buttermilk, and vegetable oil together in bowl*. If the batter is thick, thin with buttermilk until it is manageable. Remove the pan from the oven and add the batter (the pan should sizzle). Bake for 25-30 minutes.

*bacon, bacon drippings, onions, peppers, corn, cheese, etc, can be added per preference

-Madison Monnette

Monkey Bread

            Monkey bread is a sweet, sugary American dish composed of biscuit dough, sugar, cinnamon, and a brown sugar and butter glaze. It can be served as either a breakfast or a dessert.

Monkey bread is popular all across the country nowadays, but it is a dish tied to the South that continues to have a strong southern vibe. Simple to prepare and simple to eat, monkey bread epitomizes the southern dish qualities of centering around common main ingredients, such as dough, butter, and sugar, and of kinship and family. Monkey bread is meant to be shared by a table of people. Monkey bread is not meant to be cut into slices and served onto separate plates, but instead pulled apart with fingers piece by piece in an extremely communal fashion.

            The name monkey bread is a bit of a mystery, but some historians claim that it arose from the combination of “monkey food,” southern slang for snack food during the 1940’s, and jumble bread. 

            This dish was widely popularized by the Reagan Administration. President Ronald Reagan and First Lady Nancy Reagan ate monkey bread during their Christmas dinners at home and then at the White House. Their recipe is even featured in The White House Family Cookbook. However, monkey bread is rarely heard of outside of the United States.

            The recipe I will be using today is off of thepioneerwoman.com, a website for the popular Food Network show, The Pioneer Woman. The star of the show, Ree Drummond, is a resident of Oklahoma whose family owns and works on a cattle ranch. Her show focuses on down-to-earth, homey cooking. Drummond herself defines her lifestyle and her show’s theme as “country living.” While some people may debate just how southern Oklahoma deserves to be labeled, The Pioneer Woman presents undeniably southern recipes to her viewers that contain culture of the South. 

Pastor Ryan’s Monkey Bread – The Pioneer Woman

Ingredients

½ cup brown sugar

2 sticks of butter

2-3 teaspoons cinnamon

1 cup sugar

3 cans of buttermilk biscuits

Directions

1.    preheat oven to 350

2.   open biscuits and cut each pre-cut biscuit into quarters

3.   combine 1 cup sugar and 2-3 teaspoons of cinnamon into a 1 gallon zip lock baggie, shake to mix evenly

4.   drop all of the biscuit quarters into the sugar mix and shake to unstick pieces from each other and coat in cinnamon-sugar

5.    spread evenly at bottom of Bundt pan

6.   melt 2 sticks of butter with ½ cup of brown sugar, stir over medium-high heat until blended

7.   pour brown sugar butter over biscuit quarters in pan

8.   bake at 350 derees for 30-40 minutes until crust is a deep brown on top

9.   let cool for 15-30 minutes, then turn upside down to get out of pan

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/monkey-bread/

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-monkey-bread.htm

http://toriavey.com/toris-kitchen/2013/12/american-cakes-monkey-bread/

Frogmore Stew and the Low Country

    In the ever confusing distinctions of the American South and its cooking, the Low Country style is one of best defined and most recognized. This style arrises out of the southern coast land of South Caroline and parts of Georgia, which includes the Sea Island. This cuisine has created such a distinction from the rest of the southern eatery primarily because of its geographic location. The close proximity to the salt marshes, bogs, and oceans of the east coast allows for a completely unique list of ingredients to thrive there. Dishes with shrimp, crab, and other seafood dominate the cuisine and flavor almost every dish that comes from this region. As it is clear that the Low Country is a definable style of cooking, the question is, “What is the quintessential Low Country dish” . To this I answer, Frogmore stew. Despite the name of the dish, it has absolutely nothing to do with frogs. In fact this dish’s name is a bit of a debated matter, with people referring to it as Low Country Boil, Frogmore stew, Beaufort Boil, and the names go on. However Frogmore still remains the one of the oldest and most popular names for the dish. As there is no clear origin story for the dish, legend has it that in the town of Frogmore, South Carolina a fisherman had run out of ingredients for dinner so he took everything that he had, which happened to be potatoes, corn, and shrimp, and boiled it all together in a pot. It happened to be so good that he spread the word of the delicious dish and the rest is history. My reasoning for choosing this dish is because of the cultural implications that this dish has. This dish is normally served at a family gathering or a tailgate or any other large gathering. Its a dish that you dump out onto a table and join together to consume. This dish is a social affair forcing you to rub elbows with your neighbor and makes it necessary for you to communicate to effectively eat the meal. Because of this it is deeply entangled in people’s memory and means a lot more to many Southerners than simple being a good boil.

Recipe (from link to recipe)
Mike Lata's Frogmore Stew
Ingredients
½ cup (at least) Old Bay Seasoning
16 small new potatoes, about 1-inch diameter, rinsed but not peeled (about ¾ lb.)
½ lb. smoked sausage (kielbasa), cut into 16 ½-inch-thick coins
2 medium sweet onions, peeled but not trimmed, quartered lengthwise from stem to root
3 ears fresh corn, shucked and  cut into thirds
16 largest available fresh shrimp, preferably white Carolina shrimp with head on (you may want more depending on size of shrimp)
 8 stone crab claws (about 2 lb.)
Bring a large stockpot (at least 12-quart) of water (filled 2/3 of the way, about 9 quarts) to a simmer. Add Old Bay and simmer to infuse. (The water should be abundantly seasoned and aromatic.)

Add potatoes, sausage coins, and sweet onions, and bring to a lazy simmer until potatoes are fork tender, about 15 to 18 minutes.

Keeping water at a lazy simmer, add corn, and cook until kernels are slightly softened, about 3 minutes. Add shrimp and crab claws, and cook until the shrimp becomes pink and white (instead of opaque), about 5 or 6 minutes. Strain solids from cooking liquid, and transfer them to an oversize platter.

Serve with soft butter and olive oil (for potatoes and corn), sea salt, Tabasco, and cocktail sauce. Lemon wedges and chopped hot peppers (like jalapeño) are also sometimes served as accompaniments.

Introduction

Southern Foodways 

Fall 2015

University of Alabama

Blount 301

Dr. David Meek
ddmeek@ua.edu

Course Description:

Southerners tend to be quite passionate about food. There is considerable debate surrounding the authenticity of particular dishes and their preparations, and some conflict over who can or should claim certain culinary traditions. Underlying these passions, debates, and traditions are important lessons about historic and contemporary race relations, gender roles, immigration patterns, and other phenomena. In this course, we’ll use southern foodways as a lens to explore deeper questions about ownership and access; inclusion and exclusion; and what it means to grow, cook and eat in the 21^st century South. In that sense, we will examine southern foodways from a critical perspective. We will begin by studying the region’s culinary history, considering the crucial importance of climate and both voluntary and involuntary migration for shaping southern food. We will consider the trenchant but evolving relationship between food and regional identity, and the ways in which food can be understood as indicative of a changing South. We will also be cooking throughout the course, and will use our culinary endeavors to explore southern foodways, and what it means to be southern, from a first-hand perspective.