Thanksgiving in the Deep South

One of my pet peeves is watching stores and communities bypass Thanksgiving, going straight for the glamour and glitz of Christmas.  Grocery stores seem to be the only retail establishments that cling tightly to the proper chronology of the holidays, and for good reason.  For my part, I simply refuse to belittle this glorious day for friends, family, and food!

Last year was my first redneck foodie Thanksgiving blog. As you may recall, I had a few bumps in the road while preparing a larger than normal meal to make my newly extended family feel welcome. I hope someone out there learned from those mistakes, because they were plenty humbling at the time. It seems that I too must have learned something.  This year, while not perfect, went much more smoothly.  Having been raised in the south, displaced to the Midwest for the last four years, and recently moving back to the DEEP south, I wanted to make this year’s meal a really special homecoming celebration.  I tried to do this by creating a fusion of old traditions with a few of last year’s new additions and a couple of health conscious twists.

The final menu included roasted turkey, herb and cornbread dressing, sweet potato casserole, gravy (both plain and giblet), green bean casserole, cheese grits (see my September 2010 “Legends of a Redneck Foodie” blog for this recipe), pan-seared Brussels sprouts, cranberry sauce, yeast rolls, pumpkin pie, pecan pie, and apple cranberry crisp.

Photos by John King and Jenn Ballard

A few notable changes included my mom making her traditional stuffing in a Crock-Pot. I was a little worried that the top wouldn't get browned, but it turned out perfectly without having to be finished in the oven. This is a good tip for anyone who runs short on oven space around this time of year, but unlike preparing it in the oven, be sure you stir it a couple of times in the Crock-Pot to prevent the bottom from burning.  Second, we dropped the customary mashed potatoes and whole kernel corn. As you may recall from last year's blog, no one in my family even touched the corn, and a quick poll revealed that the mashed potatoes had become a habitat rather than a family favorite.  In lean economic times and the wake of a national obesity epidemic, this was a perfect example of how studying our holiday choices and opting for a few well made favorites may prove just as satisfying as our habitual bulk. I can honestly say that these two extra starches were not missed in the least. A small serving of Brussels sprouts was added in their place. I've just started experimenting with this veggie in the last year, and I like mine pan-seared on the stove top or the grill with bits of bacon or balsamic vinegar. Lastly, we replaced the traditional apple pie and Italian creme cake with a health conscious, dutch oven, apple and cranberry crisp....big hit.

Naturally, I can't just talk about what we ate without sharing a couple of recipes (that feels rude and unhelpful). With all the healthy changes this year, something I simply couldn't forgo were my grandmother's pies.  These are historic recipes in my family, and they have remained largely unchanged in my lifetime.  The slight exception to that is the addition of maple syrup to the pecan pie.  This change came about when I ran ever so slightly short on dark corn syrup while making multiple pies about five years ago. I had to finish the last one with the only thing I had in the pantry with a similar cooking consistency: pancake syrup. At the time, I was hoping the dark syrup would cover the flavor, but instead, I found that people preferred the slightly more complex version.  I’ve made it that way ever since.

Pecan Pie

3 eggs
1 - 1 1/2 cups pecans (fresh chopped or halved depending on preference)
1/2 cup white granulated sugar
7/8 cup dark syrup (Karo blue label)
1/8 cup maple syrup
1/8 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract (REAL VANILLA!!!)
1/4 cup melted butter
1 pie crust

Preheat oven to 275 F. Beat the eggs in a large mixing bowl, add granulated sugar, salt, vanilla, and melted butter. Place the pie crust in a shallow, glass pie dish. Prepare the edges as desired. Spread the pecans out in a layer on the bottom of the crust. Pour the liquid mixture over the top. The pecan will float up. Cover the edges of your pie crust with a silicon ring or folded foil. Bake the pie for 50-65 minutes, removing the ring/foil to brown the crust for the last 15 minutes.  The biggest risk with this pie is a runny filling.  It always takes longer to firm up than you think. It should have a fairly firm consistency when you shake the pan slightly or it isn't ready to come out of the oven. Let cool to room temperature before serving.

Pumpkin Pie

3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 cup cooked pumpkin (equal to one can of prepared pumpkin)
1 1/2 cup hot milk (Warm slowly on stove top. Stir constantly until steaming but not boiling)
1/2 tsp ginger

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp salt
1 pie crust

Preheat oven to 350 F. Mix the dry ingredients (sugars, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, and salt). Add the pumpkin and mix thoroughly.  Stir in the beaten eggs, and add the hot milk slowly, stirring as you go.  Place the pie crust in a deep, glass pie dish. Prepare the edges as desired and pour the liquid mixture in. Cook for 45 min to 1 hour. When the tip of a butter knife placed in the center comes out clean, the pie is ready. I like to garnish mine with fall leaves the way I saw on the cover of a Southern Living about 8 years ago. To do this, prepare another pie crust. Cut out the leaves with small cookie cutters, and place them on a cookie sheet.  Brush the tops with egg white, and dust them with cinnamon and sugar if desired. Bake at 350 F for 15 minutes or until golden brown. Place them on the pie after it has baked and cooled thoroughly.

I hope everyone had a stupendous Thanksgiving, and maybe these tips will come in handy for Christmas or even next year. I'd love to hear about your holiday recipes or tips. Please feel free to post them here. Don't forget about last year's "More turkey than you know what to do with?" December 2010 blog for great leftover ideas.

Taking Notes for the Kitchen

One of my favorite traditions in the kitchen is something that seems to have gone a bit by the way side: recipe cards.  Some people prefer cookbooks, either printed or with blank pages for adding their own, and I have to admit that I have my fair share of these. But I always end up with magazine clippings stuffed into the covers, and I can never find the recipe I need. For me, in terms of organization, space management, and convenience, nothing beats a box of recipe cards. You can fit a ton of cards into one box, and you never have to worry about running out of pages. If you’re writing in a bound book and you mess up, you have to make scribbles, use globs of whiteout, or discard the page. If you’re writing on an index card, starting over is much easier.  To top it off, you can pull out multiple cards, set them side by side and plan whole meals without flipping pages or leaving smudges.  

I guess the thing that made me want to start a box of my own was the memory I have of my grandmother’s box. It was a plain, green, metal, index card filer filled with recipes written in her own handwriting.  It was very practical (like her), but when she pulled it out, I knew a special meal was on her mind.  She only needed it when she made something that she didn't know by heart. When I started shopping for my own box, I found plenty of plain, plastic boxes in the office supply section and a few cheaply made/over-priced wooden versions online.  It was slim pickin’s to say the least. Finally, I found couple of box and card sets by Better Homes and Gardens.  They weren’t exactly my style per se, but I'm not exactly known for my patience. Mostly, I was tired of looking and ready to start my project.

I personalized my box with a few stickers and made categories to keep things organized (drinks, breakfast foods, appetizers, soups, sides, entrees, desserts, and breads).  I wrote down my favorite recipes and a few solid foundation items on the matching cards. I also grabbed some plain 4X6 index cards to copying longer recipes or ones I wasn’t sure I would keep.  Next, I bought one of those books of recipe cards that you find by the grocery store register. I thought it would be a good way to bulk up my stocks quickly. Unfortunately, I found most of these recipes were boring, redundant, and generally unhelpful. I can't really suggest this approach to anyone else.

After a couple of weeks, I had my box mostly stocked with my favorites, but it still felt a little bare. From there, I kept my eyes peeled for recipes on television that I wanted to try. I bought some card stock for my printer and used the handy-dandy “recipe card” printer function on foodnetwork.com.  I also used the card stock to print out recipes typed or copied into a word processor.  This is super convenient, but having said that, I do suggest writing a few recipes in your own handwriting, especially if you're giving them away. It may seem tedious, but I can honestly say that I still treasure small things like recipes and Christmas package labels that were handwritten by loved ones who aren’t with me anymore. It may seem sad or far off, but you never know who might feel that way about you someday.  (I think this applies to friends and family who move far away as much as to those who have gone farther.)

There are a couple more fun sources for recipe cards that I highly recommend. First, I have started cutting out recipes, instructions, and pictures (when size appropriate) from magazines. Forget about copying all that down! I just glue them to a card (see the pictures to the left). It’s quick, easy, semi-recyclingish, and I really like having a picture of a dish when I'm making it.  Second, I was in a little kitchen supply store the other day when I saw a birthday card the size of a recipe card. The front was a picture of a dish, and the inside cover was the recipe. The greeting was on the opposite page, but it came apart from the front….best birthday card ever!!

Last, I've heard about this terrific idea called a recipe party.  I’ve always wanted to throw one, but I’ve never had the right opportunity.  The party is usually a wedding shower but could easily be for other occasions. Everyone comes prepared with multiple cards baring one favorite recipe. They get a plain box to decorate, and each person trades their cards so that everyone gets a copy of each recipe.  Ideally, people would use decorative cards that represent their style.  The result would be mismatched, but all the the better for it! I've always thought that this would be a great idea for brides who don’t want or need a lot of presents but still want to celebrate their special day. Of course, it could be worked into a regular bridal shower by simply including a recipe card with each invitation so that it’s returned, filled in, on the day of the party.

With the holiday season coming up, maybe it's a good time to think about recipe card boxes as gifts too.  If you’ve got a crafty, redneck-foodie in your life (or a young adult learning to live and cook on their own), a decorate-your-own box and some matching cards could be just the ticket.

Happy Thanksgiving!

All Photographs in this blog by Jenn Ballard

Sonnet XVII By Pablo Neruda

I don't love you as if you were the salt-rose, topaz
or arrow of carnations that propagate fire:
I love you as certain dark things are loved,
secretly, between the shadow and the soul.

I love you as the plant that doesn't bloom and carries
hidden within itself the light of those flowers,
and thanks to your love, darkly in my body
lives the dense fragrance that rises from the earth.

I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where,
I love you simply, without problems or pride:
I love you in this way because I don't know any other way of loving

but this, in which there is no I or you,
so intimate that your hand upon my chest is my hand,
so intimate that when I fall asleep it is your eyes that close.