You CAN Go Home Again...

Yes you can go home again, and I do it every time I cook Southern. I can’t put together this collection without including this category. There are Southern dishes included in some of the categories previously listed, but more here. And, as you most likely know, with any good Southern meal, there HAS to be a good story!

From my Cousin Karon…

Growing up in the south, I had many versions of this chocolate pie over the years. It was usually served as desert for Sunday dinner after a wonderful main course of steak and gravy or fried chicken, and a lot of biscuits. Every mother, grandmother, aunt and cousin had their very own version but no one’s pie ever came close to my Mother’s. – The secrets – the homemade crust and the dash of salt in the filling! So don’t think that you can buy a crust at the market and get the same results, don’t forget the dash of salt…AND you must cook this in an iron skillet. Yes, you have to constantly stir the pudding but it is well worth it.


Eunice’s Chocolate Pie

1 ½ C. Sugar
3 T. Flour (self rising)
3 Eggs (separated)
Dash of Salt
3 T. Hersey’s Cocoa
3 C. Milk (skim or whole)
1 tsp. Vanilla Flavoring

Sift sugar, flour, cocoa, and salt in 10 inch iron skillet. Mix well with wooden spoon. Make a small well in the middle of the mixture; add egg yolks one at a time, mixing with wooden spoon until thick and eggs are well mixed. Continue incorporating flour in to mixture slowly while adding milk.

Stirring constantly over medium heat, bring to a full hard boil and lower heat. Cook for approximately 10 to 12 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and add flavoring. Pour filling in to baked pie crust (see recipe below) and top with meringue (see below). Return to 375 degree oven until lightly brown.

Meringue Topping

Beat 3 egg whites and ¼ t. Cream of Tartar until soft peaks form. Add 6 to 8 teaspoons of sugar (2 tsp. at a time) beating after each addition until stiff. Stir in additional vanilla flavoring and top pie. Put meringue over edge of crust to seal and with back of spoon make peaks in meringue.

Pie Crust

1 Stick Fleischmann’s Margarine (Original or Light)
Self Rising Flour

Melt margarine in pie plate in microwave on low. Be careful not to over heat! Remove from microwave and start adding flour until medium ball forms. Dough will be soft. Work dough out in pie plate forming decorative edge. Bake in 375 degree oven until lightly browned.
Note: Do not use butter for this recipe. It is too rich!

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Margaret’s Southern Roots

These recipes could be under the “Entertaining...” section or the “Special Dinners” section as well, but they really belong here because I think of home every time I cook them!

Georgia Sweet Corn Bread

Combine in a bowl:
1 cup self-rising corn meal
1/2 cup self-rising flour
1 egg
2 T. sugar
2 T. vegetable oil
3/4 cup milk
Mix well and pour into a well greased IRON skillet (#5 size). Bake at 350 degrees until light brown on top - approximately 30 minutes.


Mama Cook’s Biscuits

Combine in a bowl:
2 cups self-rising flour
2 T. vegetable oil
1 cup milk or buttermilk
Mix well and add additional flour to make workable dough. Pat out on a floured surface and cut with a cookie cutter or glass. Bake at 350 degres in well greased pan until brown on top - approximately 30 minutes.


Mama’s Chicken & Dressing with Giblet Gravy

When I grew up, we didn’t have turkey for Thanksgiving… we had chicken and dressing. It’s so Southern… and so good!


Make a pan of biscuits (see previous recipe) and a pan of corn bread (see other previous recipe - EXCEPT leave out the sugar). Let sit for a day.
The next day, cook a whole chicken in a pot of water with a couple of celery stalks (use the stalks with leaves if you have them) cut up and plenty of salt. Remove the chicken and reserve the broth. After the chicken is cooled, remove the meat from the bones and set aside.
In a large bowl, crumble the corn bread and biscuits until you have a fine grainy mixture. Add 3 eggs, a grated or finely chopped onion, a dash of nutmeg, salt & pepper to taste and enough chicken broth to make the mixture soupy (but not too soupy!). Pour into a greased 9x12 pan and bake for about an hour (or until set) at 375 degrees. Don’t let it get too brown!
Take dressing out of oven and place several pieces of boned chicken on top. Top with a few pads of margarine and pop back into the oven until meat is warm.
Can serve as is or with giblet gravy (see below recipe).

Giblet Gravy

Add a couple of T. of margarine to a medium sauce pan and melt. Add approximately 1/4 cup flour and stir until well mixed. Gradually add the remaining chicken broth until you have a smooth gravy. Add a dash of nutmeg and salt and pepper to taste. Add chopped up chicken liver (from the cooked chicken above) and a small amount of chopped chicken. Also boil one egg, dice and add. Mix well and serve over the dressing.

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Beth Hutchens' Favorite Southern Recipes

Beth is another transplanted Southerner here in Illinois. She is one of my spiritual mentors and, as is obvious by these recipes, a good cook...

This has now become an "old" Southern Living recipe. It's so good in hot weather---but fine anytime. Keeps in the freezer for ages---and someone at our house is known to sneak a spoonful of this from time to time (without the lemon-lime beverage being added).

Brandy Slush
Serves 32
from Beth Hutchens via Southern Living magazine

2 cups boiling water
4 regular size tea bags
2 cups sugar
7 cups water
2 12-oz. cans frozen lemonade concentrate (thawed & undiluted)
2 12-oz. cans frozen orange juice concentrate (thawed & undiluted)
2 cups brandy
lemon-lime carbonated beverage

Pour 2 cups boiling water over the tea bags--cover and steep for 5 minutes. Remove tea bags, squeezing gently. Cool.

Combine sugar and water in saucepan. Boil till sugar dissolves, stirring occasionally. Cool.

Combine tea, sugar mixture, lemonade and orange juice concentrates, and brandy in a large freezer proof container. Stir well. Freeze till firm (but it won't be super-hard).

To serve: Put 1/2 cup frozen mixture in a glass--add 1/4 cup lemon-lime beverage (cold)--stir till slushy. Refreeze remainder and use often. Caution---goes down way too well!!!!!


German Coleslaw

This is a weird recipe, but follow the instructions--it works. It lasts a week in the refrigerator, but you'll probably eat it sooner. It came from a North Carolina School Maintenance Association cookbook from 1976, from a Mrs. Clyde (Eva) Elliott from Asheville, NC.

1 large cabbage, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
1 medium bell pepper (green one)
2/3 cup sugar

Put chopped cabbage in a large bowl (glass or Pyrex); put chopped onion and chopped pepper over the cabbage. Pour sugar over this (leave it on the top & do not mix any of this up until ready to serve the next day).

Bring to a boil:
3/4 cup oil
1 cup vinegar (white vinegar, I believe)
1 Tbsp. salt
1 tsp. dry mustard
1 tsp. celery salt
Pour this on top of the cabbage/onion/peppers/sugar while still hot but do not mix it up. Cover and let it "set" in the refrigerator overnite, if possible. Stir it up when ready to serve the first time. Will keep in the refrigerator a week or more.



These two recipes came from a Sunday brunch (after a wedding weekend) in Lenoir, NC.

Black Dog Cafe Cheese Grits

1 cup grits
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
4 cups boiling water
4 ounces cheddar cheese, grated
1/2 to 1 cup of cooked, finely crumbled, sausage

Stir grits, salt, cayenne into boiling water. Cook according to package directions on the grits. When grits are cooked, stir in the cheese and sausage. Serve immediately.


Praline French Toast

Butter a 9 X 13 dish. Cut a French bread loaf into one inch thick slices. Layer the slices in the dish, not flat, but in an overlapping pattern.

Whisk together the following:
6-8 eggs
1 cup milk
2 cups heavy cream
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon vanilla
Pour this on top of the bread, being sure it is in between slices too. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Before baking, mix the following:
1 cup light brown sugar
2 tablespoons corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 stick soft butter
1 cup chopped pecans
Dollop this mixture on the bread; spread it across like frosting. Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes. Serve with maple syrup.

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When Rich and I moved to the Midwest, I thought I wouldn't have any trouble finding good grits. After all, we were in corn country! Wrong!!! I have to have my grits imported from the South! When we have friends come visit us from Virginia or Georgia, I often ask them to bring me some good grits. You can also buy them online. www.carolinaplantationrice.com has good grits and I'm sure there are many other sites that are equally good. Also, specialty or gourmet grocery stores often carry stoneground grits.

This recipe is similar to Beth's grits recipe above, but without the meat...

Margaret's Pecan Garlic Cheese Grits

1 cup stoneground grits (Don't use instant! Good grits make the difference!)
4 cups water
1 t. salt
1 stick butter or margarine
8 ounces of extra sharp cheddar cheese, grated + extra for the topping
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
garlic salt or powder to taste
chopped pecans for the topping

Cook grits in 4 cups water with 1 t. salt. Cook for length of time stated on package. Be sure to stir frequently because it can stick to the pan!
After the grits are done, remove from the stove and add the butter and cheese and stir well. Add garlic salt or garlic powder to taste... you don't need much! Beat the eggs and milk and add to the grits. Mix well.

Pour into a greased 9 x 12 baking pan. Sprinkle more grated cheese on top and then sprinkle the chopped pecans on top of the cheese. Bake in 350° oven for about 40 minutes or until set. Serves 6-8.