Living 2 Eat |

Instead of potato chips these Sweet Potato Oven-Fried Chips are a great accompaniment. There are lots of different versions of these; my favorite so far is from “Burt Wolf’s Menu Cookbook”, published by Doubleday.

Sweet Potato Oven-Fried Chips

One large sweet potato makes two servings, double this recipe to make 4 servings, and so on.Preheat oven to 400 degrees (F)For easy clean-up, line shallow rimmed baking sheet(s) with foil, brush with about a tablespoon or so olive or canola oil. Then slice a sweet potato approximately 1/8-inch thick (peeled, or not, your choice).

Place the slices in a single layer on the oiled foil lined sheet(s), and brush with a little more oil, lightly coating each slice throughly.*

Here’s where you can get creative! Season with kosher salt & freshly ground pepper, and add a bit of dried ground ginger, cinnamon, a sprinkle of cayenne pepper, or almost any favorite herb.

Place the tray in the hot oven for about 25 to 30 minutes until they are tender and lightly toasted, turning the slices over every 10 minutes until done to your liking. If some begin to brown before the others, remove those from the baking sheet as they become done, keep warm until all are finished baking. The longer they are allow to bake, the crisper they will become, some like them just tender while others like them more crisp.

*If you don’t want to bother with brushing the slices with oil, simply put the slices in a bowl, and toss with the oil & your choice of seasonings, then arrange them in a single layer on the baking sheet and bake. Enjoy!

Thanks to Once Upon A Plate for this recipe.

For years my family has made these delicious onions and they work as a garnish or topping for many other delicious dishes (even pasta) and at holiday events. Some ideas: The onions can be eaten by themselves, served on steak, or mixed into mashed potatoes. Pour the leftover liquid on rice.

This recipe will produce a soft, sweet caramelized onion with a hint of smoky flavor. It’s easy and effortless.

Rod Rives

Birmingham, Alabama

USA

Southern Caramelized Vidalias

2-3 whole Vidalia onions

1 liter Coca-Cola classic®

2 teaspoons liquid steak seasoning (or more to taste)

In a 9 x 13 microwave-safe casserole dish, cut whole Vidalia onions into sections 1 ½ inches in length and around 3/4 inches wide.

Literally, float the cut onions in the Coca-Cola, adding more if necessary to cover all the onions in your dish. Add the steak seasoning into the liquid. (Liquid steak seasoning is quite potent and 1 bottle capful is usually enough.) Stir once to spread the seasoning.

Place in microwave and cook for 20 minutes on high or 30 minutes on medium setting.

“Frying” okra in the oven not only keeps fat calories in check, it involves less work (no oil or fryers needed)—and you can make one big batch all at once. But most importantly, it tastes just as great as traditional fried okra.   Recipe from Vegetarian Times, click here.

Crispy Oven-Fried Okra

2 cups cornmeal
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground black pepper
1/2 tsp. paprika
1 large egg
1 lb. fresh okra or 1 16-oz. package frozen okra, thawed

Preheat oven to 400F. Coat baking pan with cooking spray.

Combine cornmeal, salt, pepper and paprika in bowl.

Whisk egg in separate bowl. Dip okra in egg, then in cornmeal mixture. Work in batches to prevent clumping.

Spread okra on prepared pan. Roast 30 to 35 minutes, or until crisp and lightly browned, shaking pan occasionally. Remove from pan with slotted spoon, and serve hot.

Yield:  4 servings

 This recipe comes from a dear family friend, Louise Plunkett.   Mr. & Mrs. Plunkett live in Immokalee, Florida not far from my parents.  Growing up, we would eat at the Plunkett’s quite often and the meals always seemed to include – fried venison, cheeseburger casserole, fresh vegetables and Key lime pie. 

To this day, I can still remember eating a baked cabbage casserole with a cream cheese and breadcrumb topping… it was incredible.   Sadly, Mrs. Plunkett has no recollection of it.  Truth be told, she probably whipped it together and never gave it a second thought.   Mrs. Plunkett was a creator in the kitchen and my waistline can attest to it!

Below is Mrs. Plunkett’s recipe for a Crock Pot Macaroni & Cheese.   Given our current economic times, this timely dish is one that can feed many and remain extremely affordable.

Crock Pot Macaroni & Cheese

1 lb macaroni

1 lb grated cheese

1 can evaporated milk

1 can cheese soup

1 stick butter, melted

1 egg

¾ cup regular milk

Cook and drain macaroni.  Mix with the rest of the ingredients.  Put in crock pot on low for 3 hours.

NOTE:   ham is a great addition to this dish, and would provide a protein component to make for a more complete meal and/or hearty appetizer.

I have fond memories from my childhood back in Sparta, Tennessee of being at a friend’s house to play and going in the kitchen while her mom, Norma Kirby, was “fixin’ lunch.”  She had a big skillet on the stove filled with oil (probably lard) and she was frying sliced yellow squash.  When I tasted them, I said, “These are good - I’ve never had fried lemons before.” 

And so began my love of fried squash.  I have now passed on that love to my son, Dylan, who at almost 16 years old, loves Southern food almost as much as I do.  Recently, I was frying squash and he came in the kitchen to sample some.  Upon that first bite, a huge grin came across his face and he said, “Yummmmm, the potato chip of the South!”  So true - they are salty and tasty and you sure can’t eat just one! 

Below is my recipe and it has no measurements.

Denise Sparkman Plunkett

Fort Myers, Florida

FRIED SQUASH

Yellow squash

All-purpose flour

Cornmeal

Oil (Vegetable or canola)

Salt

Heat oil in skillet or fryer. 

Slice squash into large bowl.  Add 1/2 flour and 1/2 cornmeal, enough to coat the squash, and toss so that each piece is coated. 

Fry until squash reaches desired shade of golden brown.  Drain on rack with newspaper underneath to catch excess oil. 

Salt immediately.

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This dish is a perfect complement to any roasted meat entrée.  

Portobello Wild Rice with Caramelized Onion Sauce

10 oz long-grain and wild rice mix

10 oz Vidalia onion

4 tbsp butter

1 tbsp sugar

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp garlic powder

4 oz Portobello mushrooms

1 1/2 cup whipping cream

3/4 cup vegetable broth

Sauté onions in 2 tablespoons butter. Add sugar until caramelized.

Puree onion in blender until smooth. Sauté Portobello mushroom in 1/2

tablespoon of butter.

Over medium-high heat, combine cream, broth, and onion. Cook until it thickens.

Cook rice as directed. Combine ingredients. Bake at 350F until heated thoroughly, 20 - 30 minutes.

I love the great variety of food found in my native South — everything from German cuisine to Cajun and Creole to the wonderful spices of Afro-Caribbean cooking.

Chef Rick

Chef Rick’s Southern Cooking

Grilled Vidalia Onions

1 medium Vidalia Onion (per person)
1 cube Beef Bouillon (per onion)
1 tablespoon butter (per onion)
Parmesan Cheese

Peel and core onions.

Insert 1 beef bouillon cube into onion, and add 1 Tbsp. butter in center. Also, insert 1 ice cube. Sprinkle generously with Parmesan cheese.

Wrap in heavy duty or doubled aluminum foil. Allow small opening to vent. Grill approximately 30 minutes or until tender.

NOTE:  Chef Rick has an awesome website, click here!

Black-eyed peas, also called cowpeas or Crowder peas are a pale-colored dry bean, with a black spot that gives them their name. It is often considered a staple of a Southern diet as a side dish or a dish known as Hoppin John. In the United States and particularly in the South, they are traditionally eaten on New Year’s Day for good luck throughout the year.

Fresh Black - Eyed Peas

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Place 2 ham hocks in a quart of water in a 4-quart Dutch oven.

Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 30 minutes.

Add 1 quart of rinsed, hulled (shelled) peas, 1 minced medium onion and salt and pepper.

Cook gently, uncovered, for 35 minutes. Add water as needed.

Remove the ham hocks, cut up the meat and add to the peas.

Makes 8 to 10 servings.

Kim Pierce

SOURCE: About.com/Old Huntsville magazine

No matter how I increase this recipe, there never seems to be any leftovers after my family gets done!

Chef Rick

Chef Rick’s Southern Cooking

Ultimate Mashed Potatoes

6 large baking potatoes
1/4 pound unsalted butter, melted
2 teaspoons salt
1 pint half and half
2 teaspoons minced garlic (optional)

Peel and cut potatoes into 1 inch cubes.

Boil until fork tender, about 10 minutes. Drain and return to heat, stirring for about 1 minute to dry out water.

Mash by hand or use electric mixer or potato ricer. Add butter, salt and garlic, if desired.

Gradually add half and half until potatoes are desired consistency.

 These baked beans were a family staple and expected at every get together. My Aunt Fran was the best cook in the family. This is because she was a Southern gal hailing from Birmingham, Alabama. She raised my brother and me. Frequently, we would come home at the end of the day before she arrived and poke around believing there wasn’t going to be any supper on the table without a shopping trip. She would fly in the door after work and looking at the same ingredients we had seen, whip up a delicious meal within the hour.

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Fran was a fearless cook, always experimenting. She really never measured anything, just sort of eyeballed the dish and threw things into it a bit at a time. She tasted everything as she went along until she was satisfied.

There was always a crock of bacon grease on the stove. Sunday morning was often smoked pork chops with eggs over easy — cooked in bacon fat. Homemade biscuits, of course, with jam or honey and plenty of Tennessee Ernie Ford hymns playing on the stereo. My Uncle Jim would frequently sing along.

Smart friends and neighbors made it a habit to drop by at meal time. There was always enough. Fran could stretch breakfast for four into brunch for ten without blinking an eye.

When I was dating, I had one frequent suitor who often came by at dinner time. He would walk into the kitchen and lift the covers off of all the pots on the stove. “What you cooking, Frances?” he’d ask her. (He was Greek and his English was a new second language to him.) He’d lift the covers and inhale, then smile at her. “Oh, no wonder you fat!” We’d all laugh and she’d make him a plate of whatever while I got ready for our date. He never stopped smiling. I wasn’t sure if he was dating me or Fran!

She’s been gone exactly one year and even though it has been a long time since she was able to create her magic in the kitchen, I know that she is in heaven fattening up all the angels.

Shortly before Aunt Fran passed, my brother (who, as you know died six weeks after she did) was here visiting for the final time. One late afternoon while he was at the hospital with her, I decided to make her baked beans for supper. Jim walked in the door with his shoulders slumped and immediately brightened up. “I know that smell!” , he said, with a huge grin on his face. We sat down and finished every last bit, laughing and sharing stories about our memories around the family table. That evening together was one of our last and I will cherish it forever.

Patricia White Kearney

Palm Beach Gardens, Florida

Aunt Fran’s Baked Beans

2 - 8 oz. jars or cans of Boston Baked Beans

3 tbsp honey

1 large sweet onion, chopped

Ketchup to loosen a lot

1 tbsp of wet mustard or 2 teaspoons of dry mustard

Strips of raw bacon

Mix all ingredients, and place bacon on top.