A Love Affair With Southern Cooking_ Recipes and Recollections - Jean Anderson [174]
6. Scoop the fruit mixture on top of the partially baked pastry, spreading to the corners. Top with the reserved pastry strips, crisscrossing them in a lattice design. Brush the pastry strips generously with the 2 tablespoons melted butter, then sprinkle with the 3 tablespoons sugar.
7. Return the sonker to the middle oven shelf and bake for 45 to 50 minutes or until bubbling and nicely browned.
8. Toward the end of baking, prepare the milk dip: Combine the sugar and cornstarch in a medium-size heavy saucepan, then whisk in the milk. Set over moderate heat and cook, whisking constantly, for about 3 minutes or until the mixture thickens. Remove from the heat and whisk in the vanilla and salt.
9. Cool the sonker for about 10 minutes (especially important if it’s made with berries or peaches), then cut into large squares. Arrange on heated dessert plates, and pass the milk dip so that everyone can help himself.
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TIME LINE: the people and events that shaped Southern Cuisine
1952
With a new highway bypassing his Corbin, Kentucky, restaurant, Harland Sanders begins selling fried-chicken franchises to other restaurants, shares his secret recipe, and demonstrates his pressure-frying technique. His take? A nickel on every order of chicken sold.
1954
Burger King opens its first hamburger stand in Miami.
1955
Grace Grissom, a young Knoxville secretary, and her husband buy into, then take over an embryonic fast-food company making sandwich spreads. Today Mrs. Grissom’s Salads (gelatin, tuna, chicken, and ham, etc.) are Tennessee supermarket staples.
Procter & Gamble buys W. T. Young Foods of Lexington, Kentucky, makers of Big Top Peanut Butter. Under the P & G label, Big Top reappears as Jif.
Joe Rogers, Sr., and Tom Forkner build their dream fast-food restaurant in Avondale Estates, an Atlanta suburb. Waffle House, they call it, and it’s the first in a far-flung chain.
1956–57
C. F. Sauer of Richmond, Virginia, begins manufacturing vegetable oils, liquid salad dressings, and mustard.
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Variation
Sweet Potato Sonker: Prepare the pastry as directed above. While it chills, boil 8 to 9 scrubbed, unpeeled medium-size sweet potatoes (about 31/2 pounds) in a large, heavy saucepan for 20 to 25 minutes or until almost tender. Drain the potatoes, cool, then peel and slice thin (you will need 8 cups sliced potatoes). Finish the sonker as directed, substituting 1 cup apple juice for the water, ½ cup firmly packed light brown sugar for the 1 cup granulated, and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract for the ½ teaspoon almond extract. Bake as directed and serve with the milk dip.
SPICED BLACKBERRY AND CORNMEAL COBBLER
MAKES 6 TO 8 SERVINGS
This imaginative recipe comes from chef John Fleer of The Inn at Blackberry Farm in the foothills of the Tennessee Smokies. Some years ago I spent several idyllic days there on assignment for Gourmet and of all the desserts I tried, this cobbler was a distinct winner. As the inn’s name suggests, blackberries grow wild there (as they do over much of the South). Their flavor is more intense than that of cultivated berries and if you can find them, by all means use wild blackberries for the cobbler. Many farmer’s markets sell them in season, as do roadside vendors. Garden blackberries can of course be substituted for the wild as can dewberries, blueberries, or raspberries. Note: Masa harina or tortilla flour is more widely available than ever; look for it in specialty food shops, Hispanic groceries, or in the “international section” of your supermarket. Tip: This cobbler can be made several hours ahead of time—no need to refrigerate.
Blackberry Mixture
3 pints blackberries (see headnote)
1½ cups granulated sugar
¼ cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1½ tablespoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon dark rum or bourbon
1½ teaspoons finely grated lemon zest
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon