A Love Affair with Southern Cooking (36 page)

• 1.
  Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a large Dutch oven over moderate heat, add the onion, and sauté for 3 to 4 minutes or until limp and lightly browned.
  
• 2.
  Add the cabbage, turning until lightly glazed; pour in ½ cup of the chicken broth and adjust the heat so the mixture bubbles lightly.
  
• 3.
  Cover and cook the cabbage for about 40 minutes or until crisp-tender, stirring occasionally and bringing the bottom pieces up on top.
  Using tongs or a slotted spoon, transfer the cabbage to an ungreased 13 × 9 × 2-inch baking dish. Preheat the oven to 350° F.
  
• 4.
  With high heat under the Dutch oven, boil the cooking liquid for 2 minutes or until reduced by about half. Turn the heat to moderately low, add the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter, and when it melts, blend in the flour and nutmeg. Whisking constantly, add the remaining cup of broth and the half-and-half and cook for 3 to 5 minutes or until thickened.
  Note:
  At first the mixture will lump, but if you whisk hard, it will smooth out.
  Add the cheese, salt, and pepper, and whisk until the cheese melts. Taste for salt and pepper and adjust as needed.
  
• 5.
  Pour the hot sauce evenly over the cabbage in the baking dish, stir gently to incorporate, then scatter the topping evenly over all.
  
• 6.
  Slide onto the middle oven shelf and bake uncovered for 35 to 40 minutes or until bubbling and nicely browned.
  
• 7.
  Serve at once as an accompaniment to baked ham or roast pork, turkey, or chicken.
  

SKILLET CABBAGE WITH BACON

MAKES
4
TO
6
SERVINGS

Cabbage has always gotten a bad rap but it’s the cook, not the cabbage, that’s usually at fault. Too often cabbage is cooked to death, turning bitter and smelling up the house. This quick and easy recipe proves that cabbage can be delicious. It’s based on my memory of the skillet cabbage served in my grammar school cafeteria. This was
pre
prefab food; lunches were prepared fresh every day by good home cooks. Today’s schoolchildren should be so lucky.

6 slices hickory-smoked bacon, cut crosswise into strips ½ inch wide

One small cabbage (2 to 2¼ pounds), quartered, cored, and each quarter sliced 1 inch thick

¹
/
₃
cup chicken broth or water

1 teaspoon salt, or to taste

¼ teaspoon black pepper, or to taste

• 1.
  Fry the bacon in a large, heavy skillet over moderate heat for 10 to 12 minutes or until the drippings cook out and only crisp brown bits remain. Scoop the bacon onto paper toweling and reserve. Pour off the drippings, then return 2 tablespoons of them to the skillet.
  
• 2.
  Add the cabbage, turn in the drippings for 2 to 3 minutes until nicely glazed, then add the broth, salt, and pepper. Cover and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally and separating the pieces of cabbage, for 10 to 12 minutes or until crisp-tender.
  
• 3.
  Return the reserved bacon to the skillet, toss the cabbage well, then taste for salt and pepper and adjust as needed.
  
• 4.
  Serve hot with baked ham, ham loaf, or roast pork, turkey, or chicken.
  

CLASSIC COLLARDS (OR TURNIP GREENS)

MAKES
4
TO
6
SERVINGS

The first time I ever ate collards—in the Fred A. Olds Elementary School cafeteria in Raleigh, North Carolina—they were prepared exactly this way. So were turnip greens, which were served on alternate days. Choose tender young collards if you can find them; they won’t need a full hour to cook, perhaps only 30 or 40 minutes. Traditionalists, however, like their greens “well done.” Tip:
I find collards easier to wash if I trim and slice them first. I also find the rinse water clinging to the leaves almost enough to cook them, although die-hard Southerners prefer a kettle full of water.
Note:
Because of the saltiness of the fatback, these greens are not likely to need additional salt.

3 large bunches (about 2 pounds) collards or turnip greens, trimmed of coarse stems

4 ounces fatback, rinsed well to remove excess salt, then quartered

¼ teaspoon black pepper

1 to 1½ cups water, if needed

• 1.
  Remove the coarse central veins from the collard leaves, then stack 4 or 5 leaves together and slice crosswise at 1-inch intervals. When all of the greens have been prepared, wash them well in several changes of cool water.
  
• 2.
  Pile the greens in a large nonreactive kettle, add the fatback and pepper, cover, and cook over moderate heat 15 minutes. Stir and if the greens seem dry, add 1 cup of the water. Cover again and cook 15 minutes more. Stir and if most of the water has evaporated, add the final ½ cup.
  Note:
  Young collards and turnip greens may be done after 30 minutes.
  
• 3.
  If the greens are not good and soft, cover again and cook 15 to 30 minutes longer.
  
• 4.
  Serve in soup bowls with plenty of “pot likker.” Accompany with fresh-baked corn bread and a cruet of cider vinegar to drizzle over the greens.
  

NEW SOUTHERN COLLARDS (OR TURNIP GREENS)

MAKES
4
TO
6
SERVINGS

Many young Southerners are abandoning the recipes of their mothers and grandmothers and cooking old favorites in new and innovative ways. These collards stir-fried in olive oil with no stinting on garlic prove the point.

3 large bunches (about 2 pounds) collards or turnip greens, trimmed of coarse stems

3 tablespoons olive oil

6 large scallions, trimmed and thinly sliced (include some green tops)

3 large garlic cloves, finely chopped

¼ teaspoon black pepper

Salt to taste

• 1.
  Remove the coarse central veins from the collard leaves, then stack 4 or 5 leaves together
  and slice crosswise at 1-inch intervals. When all of the greens have been prepared, wash them well in the sink in several changes of cool water. Spin the collards as dry as possible in a salad spinner, then pat dry on paper toweling. Set aside.
  
• 2.
  Heat the olive oil in a very large, deep skillet over moderately high heat for 2 minutes. Add the scallions and garlic and stir-fry for about 5 minutes or until limp and golden.
  
• 3.
  Add the collards and pepper and stir-fry 5 minutes or until the leaves glisten and begin to wilt. Cover and steam 10 to 15 minutes or just until crisp-tender. Mix in salt to taste.
  
• 4.
  Serve hot with roast chicken or pork or broiled chicken. Good, too, with baked ham.
  

CASSEROLE OF CREAMED COLLARDS WITH PARMESAN CRUMBS

MAKES
6
SERVINGS

Having lived in New York most of my adult life, I worried that coming home to North Carolina would land me in a gastronomic desert. Hardly! Several Manhattan-caliber chefs are stirring things up in the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill Triangle where I now live. One of the most gifted is Scott Howell, chef-owner of Nana’s in Durham. A graduate of the Culinary Institute of America who worked with David Bouley in New York as well as at Jams and two San Domenicos (on Central Park South and in Imola, Italy), Howell puts sophisticated spins on his Tennessee grandmother’s home cooking (Nana’s is named for her). Not so long ago, I profiled Howell for
Food & Wine
and among the featured recipes was this unusual casserole of collards. What follows is my downsize family version.

1 cup water

4 slices hickory-smoked bacon, cut crosswise into strips ¼ inch wide

4 pounds collards, washed and sorted, then tough leaf veins and stems removed

1 large yellow onion, coarsely chopped

1 cup heavy cream

¾ teaspoon salt, or to taste

¼ teaspoon black pepper, or to taste

1 large egg lightly beaten with 1 large egg yolk

Topping

¹
/
₃
cup coarse, dry unseasoned bread crumbs

3 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese

½ tablespoon minced fresh Italian parsley

½ teaspoon minced fresh sage or ¼ teaspoon rubbed sage

1 small garlic clove, minced

2 teaspoons fruity olive oil

• 1.
  Bring the water and the bacon to a boil in a large, heavy, nonreactive saucepan over moderately high heat. Add the collards, a handful at a time, stirring each batch until wilted before adding the next. When the water
  returns to a boil, add the onion, cover, and simmer for 40 to 45 minutes or until the collards are very tender.
  
• 2.
  Meanwhile, prepare the topping: Pulse all ingredients briskly in a food processor until uniformly crumbly; set aside.
  
• 3.
  Drain the collard mixture in a large fine sieve and cool until easy to handle. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350° F. Also butter a shallow 2-quart flameproof casserole; set aside.
  
• 4.
  Press the collard mixture fairly dry in the sieve, then coarsely chop and place in a large bowl. Mix in the cream, salt, pepper, and beaten egg.
  
• 5.
  Scoop into the casserole, spreading to the edge, and cover snugly with foil. Slide onto the middle oven shelf and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil, scatter the reserved topping over the collards, then return to the oven and bake uncovered about 20 minutes longer or until golden. Meanwhile, preheat the broiler.
  
• 6.
  For the finishing touch, set the casserole in the broiler 10 inches from the heat and broil for 1 to 2 minutes or until tipped with brown.
  
• 7.
  Serve at once with baked ham or roast pork, turkey, or chicken.
  

Only a Southerner knows how many collards or how much turnip salad it takes to make “a mess o’ greens.”

—
ANONYMOUS

JAMES RIVER CORN PUDDING

MAKES
6
SERVINGS

This recipe was given to me many years ago by James G. Harrison of Coggins Point Farm on the south side of the James River about halfway between Richmond and Williamsburg, Virginia. “People try to make a dessert of corn pudding,” Mr. Harrison told me then. “You should never put sugar in corn pudding!” His wife, Maria, would prepare this recipe only when corn was young and sweet because its flavor depends on absolutely fresh corn.

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 cups milk

2 large eggs, beaten until frothy

2 cups fresh whole-kernel sweet corn (4 small to medium ears)

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon black pepper

• 1.
  Preheat the oven to 400° F. Butter a 1½-quart casserole well and set aside.
  
• 2.
  Melt the butter in a medium-size saucepan over moderate heat, blend in the flour, then add the milk and cook, whisking constantly, for about 5 minutes or until thickened and smooth. Blend about 1 cup of the hot sauce into the eggs, stir back into the pan, and cook and stir 1 minute—do not boil. Set off the heat and mix in the corn, salt, and pepper.
  
• 3.
  Pour the corn mixture into the casserole, set in a large shallow baking pan, and slide onto the middle oven rack. Pour enough hot water into the pan to come halfway up the sides of the casserole.
  
• 4.
  Bake the pudding uncovered for 40 to 45 minutes or until set like custard. Cool for 10 minutes, then serve as a vegetable. It’s delicious with roast or fried chicken, also with Baked Virginia Ham Chapter 3.
  

MAQUE CHOUX

MAKES
6
SERVINGS

The best time to make this Cajun classic is when sweet corn and tomatoes are in season, and the fresher the better. However, I make it off-season using canned tomatoes and flash-frozen corn, which is often sweeter than what I buy at my farmer’s market. People often ask me what
maque choux
means. I wish that I had an easy answer. Some say that the word is American Indian and that it refers to the corn, pepper, and tomato stew they passed along to the Cajuns. On the other hand, John Folse writes in his
Encyclopedia of Cajun and Creole Cuisine
that
maque choux
derives from the Creole word for corn
(maque)
and the French word for cabbage
(choux)
.
Early Louisianans apparently did make
maque choux
with cabbage. Today chicken and shrimp are likelier additions, particularly among the Cajuns. I personally prefer this vegetable version.