Cornbread

Cornbread is a staple in the South, and every cook has a favorite method and recipe. Chicken and dumplings, chili, pinto beans, gumbo, and some other meals are just not the same if they aren't served with cornbread.

Here are the tools you'll need to begin:

large mixing bowl
small bowl
wooden spoon
wire whisk
measuring cups and spoons
10-inch iron skillet or a 9-inch baking pan

This is one of my favorite recipes for skillet cornbread, Southern-style. It's a must with a New Year's Day dinner, and it's a tradition for many with chili, pinto beans, soups, greens, and other delicious Southern meals.

INGREDIENTS:

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 1/2 cups white cornmeal
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup low-fat milk
2 large eggs
2 to 3 tablespoons melted butter

PREPARATION:

Preheat oven to 400°.Add about 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil to a 10-inch seasoned iron skillet; place in oven.
In a mixing bowl, combine the meal, flour, salt, baking powder and soda.

In another bowl, whisk buttermilk and milk with eggs and melted butter. Gradually fold milk mixture into dry ingredients, folding and mixing just until all dry ingredients are moist.

Using oven mitts or potholders, carefully remove the hot skillet from the oven; swirl slightly so oil coats sides of pan. Pour batter into the skillet then return to oven. Reduce heat to 350°. Bake cornbread for 35 to 45 minutes, until it pulls away from sides of pan and is lightly browned.
Cut into squares or wedges.

Soup Beans

Up here, in the mountains of the south, we know that soup beans and bean soup is not the same thing. Soup beans are a term common in the Southern United States, particularly the regions around the Appalachian Mountains. It refers to pinto or other brown dried beans cooked with smoked pork as flavoring. Soup beans are usually served with cornbread and considered a main course, but can also serve as a side dish. In rural areas, where food was scarce during the winter, these dried beans were a staple food. I grew up on soup beans and every southern cook has a different way of making it. This is my version which is a combination of the way my Grandmother, Granny, and Mom made it. I like to use a pressure cooker to speed up the process, but you can use a regular pot, just keep an eye on the water level so it doesn't boil down. You have to crumble cornbread in it when you serve it for that down home authenticity.

SERVES 8 -10

Ingredients:

1 lb dried beans (pinto preferred, but almost anything will work, my school cafeteria always made them with navy beans)
1 ham hock (salt pork, ham bone, or other salty pork)
1 small onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon butter or bacon grease
6 cups hot water

Directions:

Follow directions on bean bag for presoaking the beans.
Drain and rinse beans, sit aside.
In the pan melt butter (or bacon grease) over medium heat. Cook onions and garlic until soft and lightly brown.
Add beans, ham hock, and water to pressure cooker. Put on lid and seal. Bring heat up to high.
Once pressure has been reached, reduce heat to low and cook for 30 minutes.
Remove the pressure cooker from heat and release the pressure with a quick release method. Remove the cover and test beans for doneness. If necessary cover and return the pot to pressure and cook for another 5 minutes.
Remove the ham hock from the soup. Discard the skin and bones. Chop the remaining meat and add it back to the soup.
Season with additional salt and pepper if necessary and serve hot with crumbled corn bread.

Fried Green Tomatoes

Southerners really do eat fried green tomatoes; and they eat fried red tomatoes too. If you haven't tried them, you're in for a treat!

Ingredients:

4 to 6 green tomatoes
salt and pepper
cornmeal
bacon grease or vegetable oil

Preparation:

Slice the tomatoes into 1/4 - 1/2-inch slices. Salt and pepper them to taste. Dip in meal and fry in hot grease or oil about 3 minutes or until golden on bottom. Gently turn and fry the other side. Serve as a side dish - delicious with breakfast

Cast Iron Skillet Care

A Southern woman's pride and joy is her cast iron skillet. Here I will tell you how to season, wash and store your cast iron cookware.

Difficulty: Easy

Time Required: Several Hours

Here's How:

Wash skillet in hot, soapy water. Rinse thoroughly and dry completely.

Apply a thin coating of melted shortening (Crisco, for example) or vegetable oil with a solf cloth or paper towel. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place skillet UPSIDE DOWN on top oven rack. Place foil on a cookie sheet and place on bottom rack of oven. This will catch the drippings from the skillet. Bake in oven for one hour. Turn oven off. DO NOT OPEN. Allow skillet to cool down in oven (several hours). There may be a film on your cookware, this comes off after use. You will have to use it a couple times as a test.

Tips:

Clean skillet after use while still warm with hot water and a plastic scrub brush.
DO NOT put in dishwasher or wash with soap or dishwashing detergent.
Dry cast iron cookware thoroughly after washing, then spray lightly with vegetable oil (Pam, etc.) Wipe dry and store. Never store cookware with lid on; cast iron cookware needs air circulation.
Re-season cookware after cooking beans or acidic foods (such as tomatoes). Frying or cooking foods with fat content helps expedite the seasoning process.
Do not use cast iron cookware for storage of food.

I hope these tips help you with preparing, cooking, and cleaning of your cast iron cookware