Locust Hill Lemon Pie.

Lemon pie, commonly referred to as custard pie by the uninitiated, is still the downfall of many of our diets.  The recipe has been in our family for generations.

     It is at the same time sweet, tart, creamy, and absolutely delicious.   Miss Lula’s mother, Mama Mollie, used to bake them and give Papa his own pie.

     Not just a slice, but his own 9-inch pie.  Papa would savor the taste, but his pie never lasted the day.  Even though we know it probably isn’t a good idea, some of us still succumb to this tradition. 

      We accept a lemon pie as a gift, agree  to share it with those who are unable to join us for our holiday feast, then hunker down in a corner of an airport lounge or whatever quiet place available and eat the whole thing.  This is not recommended, but it is so enjoyable.  

3 large eggs, separated
3/4-stick margarine or butter
1 9” regular pie shell, unbaked
3/4-cup sugar
1 tsp. plain flour
1/4 cup lemon juice Cream margarine and sugar at medium speed (about 2 minutes).

     Add egg yolks and flour.  Beat egg whites separately at high speed until high peaks form.  Add this to the sugar and margarine and blend well. Add lemon juice, mix well. Pour into pie shell and bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes.  Let cool before cutting

Fresh String Beans with Potatoes (Okra Optional).

4 lbs. string beans, broken into small pieces about 1 ½ inch in length. 6 or 7 small red Irish potatoes 10 or 12 small pods okra (optional) 4 or 5 medium slices of salt pork (do not use pre-sliced meat) Salt and black pepper to taste Cut salt meat into ¼ inch slices. Add to pot and cover with cold water. Bring to boil and continue boiling for 10-15 minutes. Drain. Add 4 tablespoons cooking oil to the pot.  Fry salt pork in oil until crispy.  Add 2 cups cold water to pot. Wash and drain beans, and add to pot.  Add 2-3 slices fresh red pepper (optional). Add enough water to cover beans. Cover, and cook on medium heat until beans are ¾ done. Peel Irish potatoes and cut in half. Rinse, and add to beans.  If water does not cover beans and potatoes, add enough hot water to cover. (The finished dish should have about 1 cup of liquid). If adding okra, wash it in cold water and cut ends off.  Add to beans and potatoes. Add salt and black pepper to taste. Mix 2 teaspoons plain flour with 1/3-cup cold water. Mix well. Add to beans during last 10 minutes of cooking.  Stir well. If using CANNED snap beans, follow recipe below. 1-gallon snap or string beans 6-7 small red Irish potatoes 10-12 small pods fresh okra or 1 box frozen whole okra (optional) 2 medium slices salt pork ¾ pound cured ham ends salt and black pepper to taste ½ pod cayenne or jalapeno pepper Prepare salt pork as indicated for fresh snap beans. Wash and add ham ends. Add 1-cup cold water (from tap) to meats.  Cover and cook for 8-10 minutes.  Add ½ pod red pepper.  Peel potatoes.  Cut in half and add to meat.

       Cook for 8 minutes.  Add okra (optional). When almost done, add beans plus ½ liquid from the can of beans.  Add salt and black pepper to taste.  Cover and bring to boil. Add flour and water mixture as indicated for fresh snap beans.  Cook an additional 5 minutes. Serves 8-10.

Old Fashioned Southern Collard Greens.

Collard greens and corn bread were served for dinner at least a couple of days each week from October through May.  

    When I was growing up I prayed for something different for dinner.
Now I crave them.  Once upon a time it was very difficult to get fresh collards at some grocery stores in major US cities. 

      They are becoming more readily available, if you’re willing to go to the right neighborhood.

3 to 5 pounds of fresh collards
4 to 6 thick slices of salted pork
½ teaspoon of Morton’s Nature’s Seasoning
1 pod red pepper.

         Use less if you don’t like hot food 4 tbsp vegetable oil Carefully wash greens to remove dirt and other debris.  Remove about 1/3 of the stem from each leaf, beginning at base of leaf.

        Wash another three times.  Roll green leaves the long way into a tight roll, and slice the roll into 1/4 to 1/2 inch strips.  Drain.  Put salt pork in large pot, add 3 cups of warm water. 

     Cover and boil 12-15 minutes.  Remove the meat and blot dry on paper towel. Discard the water. 

    Put 4 tablespoons vegetable oil in skillet.  On medium heat fry the salt pork until crispy.

    Pour the salt port and drippings into the large pot, lower the flame,

add

  1/2 cup water and washed and drained greens.  Cover and let simmer for 8 minutes. 

    Turn the greens so that they are all coated.  If all did not initially fit into the pot, add the remainder.  Cover and bring to boil, and continue to cook for another 5 minutes. 

     Stir.  Check the water level; add another 1/2 cup warm water if necessary to maintain the water level.  Add Nature’s Seasoning and red pepper.  Salt to taste.  Return cover and continue cooking until greens reach desired tenderness (about 40 minutes). (Optional) When greens are almost to desired tenderness add 10-15 pods of whole fresh or frozen okra.  Add a pinch of salt after 3 minutes of cooking.  Do not crush okra, as pods should remain intact. Serves 6 people with big appetites.

Perfect Candied Sweet Potatoes.

Although sweet potatoes were quite plentiful during the period immediately following our late September potato digging time, candied sweet potatoes were only served on Sunday. 

   We thought of them as a dessert and savored the tastes of lots of sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon, and orange.
 
        All other days we ate them baked in their jackets. When cool, sweet baked potatoes made excellent snacks.  Sometimes we took them to elementary school as lunch.

        Some of our more in-the-know fellow students thought the lowly potato quite “country” compared to their store bought potted meat and crackers.
    
      At the time we would have gladly traded. Candied sweet potatoes were also a Sunday dinner treat at our college-dining hall.  They didn’t taste home made, but they were edible.

     The syrup in this dish is really a bit tricky.  One must not only get the right mix of water and sugar, it must be cooked to the proper consistency.  Another trick is not to get the potatoes mushy. 

      This is a failsafe recipe for perfect candied sweet potatoes. Elsie has improved on the original family recipe. 6 medium sweet potatoes

   1/2 stick margarine
   3/4 tsp. cinnamon
   1 1/2 cup sugar
   1/2 tsp. grated orange rind
   1/2 tsp. nutmeg
  1 scant tsp. vanilla Peel, slice and wash potatoes. Keep covered with water until ready to cook.

In Dutch or large pot put
     3/4 cup water,
    1 cup sugar, margarine,
  and 1 scant teaspoon vanilla flavor. 

    Cover and bring to a boil. Stir frequently, so as not to let the syrup stick. When the syrup has thickened add the potatoes. Mix the orange rind, nutmeg, cinnamon and 1/2-cup sugar, and sprinkle over the potatoes. Lower the heat and cook until tender.

       Gently spoon the syrup over the potatoes

Making of Cornbread And Oyster Dressing.

Daddy took great pride in making cornbread and oyster dressing for Christmas. We thought it delicious and exotic because we knew that none of our neighbors had it.  Daddy brought oysters from New Orleans and added them to the dressing with a great flourish. Locust Hill natives initially balked at the notion of adding the strange food to the more common and acceptable cornbread dressing.  “Too citified, and  strange looking, to boot,” they murmured. That is, until they tasted it.

      Although stuffing is quite common during the Christmas holidays, Daddy’s recipe has always been my favorite.  The only place that I have ever been able to get it is at home; Elsie has recreated it.  She makes it in huge quantities and all close family members take home a frozen bag of it for later.  When the hubbub of Christmas is over, toward the end of January, we prepare it (translate - thaw and warm) and relive the moment.

   Part I,

         day 1 You should do this part the day before you plan to serve dressing.

Broth .
     Wash 3 to 4 lb. of turkey necks or 1 baking hen.  Place in large pot and cover with cold water. 

Add:

     2 large onions, chopped
     2 large green (bell) peppers
     6 med. cloves garlic, finely chopped
     4-5 stalks of celery, finely chopped
     1 medium red pepper cut in half 
     4 large whole bay leaves *If using turkey necks add
     3-4 slices of raw bacon Be sure to keep enough water in pot to yield
     3 quarts of broth.

   Boil until meat readily falls off bone. Set aside to cool. When cool, take the meat from the bones and chop finely. Strain the broth through a colander, and discard the bay leaves.  Keep the remaining ingredients (from the broth) to use in the dressing.

      Store the broth and the ingredients in the refrigerator. If you make oyster dressing you will still need to boil the chicken or turkey necks for broth. 

       Don’t worry, the meat will not be wasted;  it makes great salad. Part II The dressing Do this part the day you plan to use the dressing.

    1 large pan cornbread
    1 large box cornbread dressing mix, with herbs (packet included in mix)
    1 cup cooked rice
    4 cups yellow squash, sliced, boiled, and drained
    2 cups oysters, chicken, or turkey, finely chopped
    2 sticks butter or margarine
    2 tablespoons rubbed sage
    1-tablespoon season salt, or salt to taste   Pepper, to taste Thoroughly crumble the bread. 
   
Add the first three (3) ingredients listed above, using the broth to moisten the mixture.  When well mixed, add the remainder of the ingredients.  Soften the butter before adding to the mixture.   If you plan to use all the dressing at once beat six (6) eggs and stir into the mixture.  If you use one half of the dressing, use three (3) eggs.  Do NOT add the eggs until you are ready to bake the dressing.  The dressing freezes without the eggs. Bake in a casserole dish for 55 minutes at 4000. 

    Yield:  about 2 gallons of dressing.

The remainder of the broth can be used to make gravy.

Ernest’s Grilled Loin of Pork.

Cooking methods have changed since our days of “hog killings.”  We like to grill it over slow heat, but have adapted the recipe for oven cooking.

    Preparation of meat and fowl for grilling is very similar.  You need only observe the process to understand how we can cook such large quantities within a relative short time span.

    
These guidelines work just as well with chicken and will enable you, too, to prepare for a crowd with relative ease.

  8-pound pork  loin
  Seasoned salt
  Salt
  Pepper.

    
If possible use meat that has not been frozen.  6-8 hours before ready to begin cooking, prepare the meat. 

   Cut off excess fat and/or pick off pinfeathers.  Wash and drain the meat. Pork Loin - cut 1 1/2 inch deep gashes about 4 inches apart and insert a medium slice of garlic in each opening.

    All meat (and fowl) - sprinkle lightly with salt and red pepper, more liberally with black pepper, seasoned salt, and garlic powder.  Dice onion and place pieces between layers of meat.

     Wrap in aluminum foil and refrigerate overnight, or 6-8 hours. Keep refrigerated until ready to cook. Place on grill and cook slowly over moderate heat.

   Thank you........

Making Baked Christmas Goose.

Elsie says Miss Millie, eccentric wife of Great Uncle Ben, first introduced her to Christmas Goose.  Miss Millie lived down the hill and across the ditch from our home and raised geese as a food source.  (In those days it would have been unthinkable for anyone at Locust Hill to spend time and money on something that didn’t have a quick return on investment, such as a pet).  Every Christmas (and really special occasions in between) Miss Millie would sacrifice a goose for Christmas dinner.  About a month before the big day she would pluck the bird from the flock and put it in a coop - to “clean it out”.  This way the bird couldn’t have access to unsavory food, and could be fattened up.  By Christmas the goose would be plump and juicy.  Elsie, who was quite young at the time, swears that the taste of the goose was one of the most delightful food treats of Christmas.  Elsie was not then, and is not now, easily impressed.  She worked on the baked goose recipe until she got it down pat, maybe even better than Miss Millie’s original version.  There are never take-home portions, only disappointment when its all gone.

  10-pound goose, fresh or frozen (fresh preferred)
   Salt and pepper
   Garlic powder Cayenne pepper
   1 large onion
   3 stalks celery, broken in half
   1 green pepper

            If frozen, thaw at room temperature 8-12 hours.  If not thoroughly thawed run cold tap water over it.  Pick off pinfeathers, wash well, and pat dry with paper towels.  Cut off excessive skin at neck.  Sprinkle inside and out with salt (lightly), black pepper, seasoned salt, garlic powder and ever so lightly with red pepper.  Cut 1 large onion into slices, place in the cavity of the bird.  Place in pan and cover with aluminum foil.  Refrigerate overnight.  Before placing in oven, put 2 stalks celery and 1/2 green pepper (sliced the long way) into cavity.  Place the rest of the sliced pepper and 3-4 pieces of celery around the goose.

     If baking in a lightweight pan, wrap the goose in foil and add 3/4-cup water in the pan (not inside the foil) to prevent burning.  Keep adding water as you cook.  Do not let all the water cook out.
  
           If using a roasting pan, add 1/2-cup water directly in with the goose.  Check after cooking 1 hour for tenderness and salt content. When the goose is almost done remove the foil to let it brown.  Turn to brown on the other side. (Usually it will brown with the lid on in a roasting pan). 
                
        Cooking time is about 2-3 hours for a 10-pound goose.