A Love Affair With Southern Cooking_ Recipes and Recollections - Jean Anderson [140]
George W. Jenkins opens the first Publix grocery in Winter Haven, Florida. Today there are nearly 1,000 employee-owned Publix supermarkets scattered across the South.
1930s
The Brock Candy Company of Chattanooga creates a new Christmas favorite: chocolate-covered cherries.
Harland Sanders opens a restaurant in Corbin, Kentucky. The house specialty: fried chicken “battered” with a secret blend of herbs and spices. (See Colonel Harland Sanders, Chapter 3.)
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FRIED GREEN TOMATOES
MAKES 4 TO 6 SERVINGS
Every southern cook has a pet recipe for fried green tomatoes and this one is an amalgam I’ve evolved over the years. What gives these tomatoes especially good flavor is the flour-and-cornmeal combo used to dredge them, also the addition of bacon drippings to the frying oil. Two of my favorite appetizers, Black-Eyed Pea Hummus and Shrimp Rémoulade, call for fried green tomatoes—and you won’t go wrong using this recipe. Note: I find the granular yellow “supermarket” cornmeal too gritty for dredging the tomatoes, so if the stone-ground is unavailable, simply double the amount of flour below.
6 hard green tomatoes, each measuring 2 to 2½inches across
1 extra-large egg
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 cup fine dry bread crumbs
½ cup unsifted all-purpose flour
½ cup unsifted stone-ground yellow cornmeal
¼ cup vegetable oil plus 2 tablespoons bacon drippings, or 6 tablespoons vegetable oil (for frying)
1. Without coring or peeling the tomatoes, slice them 3/8 inch thick; discard the end pieces and spread the slices on paper toweling while you proceed with the recipe.
2. Whisk the egg until frothy in a small bowl with ½ teaspoon each of the salt and pepper; set aside.
3. Combine the bread crumbs with another ¼ teaspoon each of the salt and pepper in a pie pan and set aside. Next, combine the flour, cornmeal, and remaining salt and pepper in a second pie pan and set aside also.
4. Dredge each tomato slice in the flour-cornmeal combo, then dip into the egg mixture, then coat with the bread crumbs, shaking off the excess. Air-dry the breaded slices on a wire rack for 15 to 20 minutes. This helps the breading stick to the tomatoes.
5. Place the oil and bacon drippings in a large, heavy iron skillet and set it over moderately high heat for about 2 minutes. When a cube of bread sizzles when dropped into the hot oil, begin frying the green tomatoes, allowing 1 to 1½ minutes for each side to brown. As the tomatoes brown, lift to paper toweling to drain.
6. Serve hot as a vegetable. Or use as other recipes direct.
“That reminds me, whatever you do, Kate…take that fresh Lady Baltimore cake out to the house…And make Rachel hunt through the shelves for some more green tomato pickle.”
—EUDORA WELTY, KIN
CORN BREAD DRESSING WITH PECANS AND BACON
MAKES 12 TO 14 SERVINGS, ENOUGH TO STUFF A 12-TO 15-POUND TURKEY
Many corn bread dressings are made with sausage, but because those dressings tend to be greasy, I prefer a good lean bacon cooked until crisp and brown. This dressing is fairly light—not too moist, not too dry. I always bake it separately because I think this method safer. If you want to stuff the bird, do so just before you shove it into the oven. Spoon the dressing lightly into the body and neck cavities, then truss the bird. If there’s extra dressing—and there usually is—bundle it in aluminum foil and bake 30 to 35 minutes at 350° F.
It’s important to make the corn bread a day or two before you use it. I split it horizontally, spread it on a baking sheet, and let stand at room temperature, turning the pieces several times as they dry. I also set the slices of white bread out to dry. Note: To toast the pecans, spread in a jelly-roll pan or rimmed baking sheet, then set on the middle shelf of a 350° F. oven for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring well at half-time.