Read A Love Affair with Southern Cooking Online
Authors: Jean Anderson,Jean Anderson
A Love Affair with Southern Cooking (7 page)
TIME LINE: the people and events that shaped Southern Cuisine
1618 | | Chief Powhatan dies and his successor vows to rid Virginia of the English. |
1619 | | On December 4, America’s first Thanksgiving is observed at Berkeley Plantation (in what later became Virginia) on the banks of the James River by 38 men from Berkeley Parish, England. The plantation’s three-story red-brick Georgian mansion, built in 1726 and now open to the public, was the birthplace of President William Henry Harrison. |
| | The “brides’ ship” brings 90 young women to Virginia. They are the first females to set foot in the new colony. That same year, 20 Africans arrive aboard a Dutch ship as indentured servants, not as slaves. |
1621 | | America’s first grist mill is built in Jamestown, Virginia. |
1624 | | Only 1,218 colonists remain of the 8,500 sent to the Virginia colony. Some returned to England but the majority died of disease or starvation or were killed by the natives. |
| | Still determined to produce fine wines in their Virginia colony, the English dispatch a French wine specialist to Jamestown. He, too, fails. |
CILE’S CUCUMBER TEA SANDWICHES
MAKES
26
TO
28
SMALL SANDWICHES
Not so long ago when I drove to Hattiesburg, Mississippi, to visit Jean Todd Freeman, with whom I’d worked at
The Ladies’ Home Journal
in New York, she and her sister Cile Freeman
Waite gave a little party for me and among the finger foods they served were these superb cucumber sandwiches. I couldn’t get enough of them, so when I began the appetizer chapter for this book, I knew that Cile’s cucumber sandwiches were a “must.” Here’s the recipe she e-mailed me—with a few minor changes. Note:
Cile grates the cucumbers and onion by hand, but I pulse them in the food processor until about the texture of lentils: 4 to 5 pulses, then a good scraping of the work bowl, then another 4 to 5 pulses. That’s all it takes. Cile also tells me that if the cucumber seeds are coarse or large, she removes them before she grates the cucumbers. Not necessary if you use the food processor. Left full-size, these cucumber sandwiches can be served as a light lunch or supper.
2 medium cucumbers (about 1 pound), peeled and moderately finely grated (see Note at left)
1 small yellow onion, finely chopped or grated
1½ teaspoons salt
2
/
3
cup firmly packed mayonnaise (use “light,” if you like)
¼ teaspoon black pepper
One 1-pound loaf thinly sliced, firm-textured white bread, crusts removed
LITTLE DEBBIE SNACK CAKES
“Is there a real little Debbie?”
According to the Little Debbie website, that’s the number one frequently asked question. And the answer?
Yes, that curly-headed moppet in the broad-brimmed straw hat is indeed real. She’s the granddaughter of McKee Foods founder O. D. McKee of Collegedale, Tennessee.
Back in 1960 when McKee’s first snack cake—the Oatmeal Creme Pie—was ready for sale in family-pack cartons (an American first), he needed a catchy name. Packaging supplier Bob Mosher suggested using the name of a family member. And that got McKee to thinking. He loved the snapshot of his little granddaughter in her favorite straw hat. Exactly the image McKee wanted. So Little Debbie, then just four, became the company icon.
Those first Little Debbie Oatmeal Creme Pies sailed off the shelves in 1960 at forty-nine cents a carton—more than fourteen million of them in less than a year. Since then, the variety of snack cakes has increased seventy-five-fold with Swiss Cake Rolls the current favorite, Nutty Bars Wafer Bars placing second, and the original Oatmeal Creme Pies not far behind. Prices are up, too, but not enough to dent sales wherever Little Debbies are sold: in all fifty states, Canada, Mexico, and Puerto Rico plus U.S. military bases around the world.
Line up the 133 billion-plus Little Debbie Snack Cakes that have sold since 1960 and they’d stretch to the moon and back four times.
Talk about taking the cake!
- 1.
Line a mesh colander or large fine sieve with a clean, dry dish towel; add the cucumbers, onion, and salt; toss well; then let drain for about 1 hour. Bundle the cucumber mixture in the towel, then wring as dry as possible. - 2.
Place the cucumber mixture in a small bowl and blend in
1
/
3
cup of the mayonnaise along with the pepper. - 3.
Using the remaining
1
/
3
cup mayonnaise, lightly spread half of the bread slices. Spread the remaining slices with the cucumber mixture, then sandwich the two together, pressing down lightly. - 4.
With a sharp knife, halve each sandwich on the diagonal so that you have two small triangular sandwiches. - 5.
Arrange on a colorful plate and pass with cocktails.
CHEERWINE
Salisbury, a small town in North Carolina’s rolling Piedmont, has a few claims to fame. George Washington passed through in 1791, Andrew Jackson came to study law, and a notorious Confederate prison was located here. But many would say that Salisbury’s greatest distinction is that it’s the birthplace of Cheerwine.
It all began in 1917 in the basement of a wholesale grocery store owned by L. D. Peeler near the railroad tracks. Peeler and a group of investors had bought out a Kentucky beverage company and founded the Carolina Beverage Corporation.
A salesman from St. Louis passed through town that year and sold Peeler the recipe for a wild cherry flavoring. He blended it with nine other flavors and presto: Cheerwine, a fizzy soft drink the color of Burgundy wine.
Although somewhat extravagantly called “the Nectar of the Tar Heels,” Cheerwine remained a Salisbury secret for many years. Drive a few miles in any direction and nobody had even heard of it. As late as the mid-1940s a young Salisburian traveled to Raleigh to join the Marines. Sitting down to lunch at a drugstore counter, he ordered a sandwich and a Cheerwine.
“Sir,” sniffed the counterman, “we don’t sell wine in drugstores.”
Fifty years later, a Salisburian whose brother lived in Birmingham, Alabama, was assured that he was welcome to visit as long as he brought a few six-packs of Cheerwine.
Today, Cheerwine’s website tells the story of an expanding empire. The drink is now available in thirteen states, mostly southern, but there are a few outposts as far west as Texas.
What’s more, two years ago Cheerwine announced an agreement with a Norwegian firm to bottle the drink in Oslo. And there have even been feelers from Russia and Africa.
The drink itself is not the only product offered by Cheerwine’s makers. There is Diet Cheerwine, of course, and a sherbet called Cheerwine Swirl. The website offers recipes for Cheerwine cake, Cheerwine pie, even a Cheerwine barbecue sauce.
For Cheerwine, the future looks, well, cheerful. Yesterday: a grocery-store basement. Today: the Solid South. Tomorrow: the world?
WATERCRESS FINGER SANDWICHES
MAKES
26
TO
28
SMALL SANDWICHES
“Finger sandwich” is just another way of saying “tea sandwich,” meaning that the sandwiches are dainty enough to be picked up with the fingers and eaten in one or two bites. Like cucumber sandwiches, these are tea party staples; rare is the southern hostess who doesn’t serve them. Note:
Because of the saltiness of the cream cheese, the filling is not likely to need additional salt, but taste to make sure.
Tip:
So that the filling isn’t watery, pat the watercress leaves as dry as possible on paper toweling before mincing.
One 8-ounce package “light” cream cheese (Neufchâtel), at room temperature
2
/
3
cup finely minced tender young watercress leaves (see Tip above)
1 large scallion, trimmed and finely minced (include some green tops)
1 tablespoon mayonnaise (about)
1 teaspoon finely snipped fresh dill
¼ teaspoon black pepper
¼ teaspoon hot red pepper sauce
One 1-pound loaf thinly sliced, firm-textured white bread, crusts removed
- 1.
Place the cream cheese in a medium-size bowl; add the watercress, scallion, mayonnaise, dill, black pepper, and hot pepper sauce, and cream until smooth. If the mixture seems stiff, beat in an additional tablespoon or so of mayonnaise. Taste for salt and add, as needed.
Note:
The filling can be made a day ahead of time, covered, and refrigerated. Let stand at room temperature for about 30 minutes or until soft enough to spread. - 2.
Spread half the slices of bread with the watercress mixture, then top with the remaining slices, pressing down lightly. - 3.
With a sharp knife, halve each sandwich on the diagonal so that you have two small triangular sandwiches. - 4.
Arrange on a colorful plate and set out on a buffet or tea table. Or pass with cocktails.
LITTLE TOMATO TRIANGLES
MAKES ABOUT
3
DOZEN SMALL OR
6
DOZEN BITE-SIZE SANDWICHES
One blistering summer night when I stopped by Crook’s Corner, a favorite Chapel Hill restaurant, chef Bill Smith sent out a plate of bite-size tomato sandwiches as an appetizer—the best I’ve ever eaten. Bill made them especially for us because one of his staff had brought in some tomatoes from her own garden. There are five ingredients only: bread, tomatoes, mayonnaise, salt, and pepper. I now make these dandy little sandwiches whenever I find plum tomatoes full of flavor. They’re the best variety for this recipe because they have firmer flesh and fewer seeds. I quarter each tomato lengthwise, scoop out the seeds, then slice each quarter into long strips
1
/
8
to ¼ inch wide and cut the strips crosswise into fine dice. Note:
Southerners insist upon Duke’s mayo, but any good commercial brand will do.
Tips:
Much to my surprise, these sandwiches can be made several hours ahead of time—something I learned after shoving a plate of leftovers into the fridge. I’d layered the sandwiches between sheets of paper toweling, then draped the lot with plastic wrap. And here’s another plus: These sandwiches slice more cleanly when cold, so make the diagonal cuts (Step 3) after their stay in the fridge.
4 firm-ripe plum tomatoes (about 1 pound), cored and finely diced but not peeled (see headnote)
1 teaspoon salt
½ cup firmly packed mayonnaise
¼ teaspoon black pepper
One 1-pound loaf firm-textured white sandwich bread (18 slices, not counting “heels”), crusts removed
- 1.
Place the tomatoes in a large fine sieve, sprinkle with the salt, and let stand for 1 hour, shaking the sieve now and then to extract as much juice as possible. Pat the tomatoes dry on paper toweling, transfer to a small nonreactive bowl, and mix in 2 tablespoons of the mayonnaise and the pepper. - 2.
Using the remaining mayonnaise, skim-coat each slice of bread, then spread the tomato mixture over half of the slices. Place the remaining slices on top, mayonnaise sides down, and press firmly.
Note:
You can prepare the sandwiches up to this point several hours or even a day ahead of time (see Tips above). - 3.
Using a freshly sharpened knife, halve each tomato sandwich on the diagonal so that you have two fairly small triangles. Then, if you’re going for bite-size sandwiches, halve each triangle; I don’t recommend this unless the sandwiches are cold because the tomato filling will ooze out. - 4.
Arrange the tomato sandwiches on a colorful plate and serve with cocktails. Or set out on a tea or coffee buffet.
TIME LINE: the people and events that shaped Southern Cuisine
1634 | | Twenty-eight-year-old Lord Baltimore founds the Maryland colony, bringing with him several hundred English men and women. En route, they pause in the Virginia colony long enough to provision themselves with hogs, cows, and poultry. |
1672 | | King Charles II sends a group of wealthy British citizens to establish a colony in South Carolina. They call it Charles Towne. |
1684–85 | | Captain John Thurber arrives in the port of Charles Towne from Madagascar, bringing with him a bag of rice. He gives it to Dr. Henry Woodward, who plants it and gets a good crop. |
1691 | | Given permission to pay taxes with rice instead of money, South Carolina colonists plant vast fields of it and within a few decades, rice has become a major Lowcountry crop. |
1698 | | Under Louis XIV, the French colonize Louisiana near the mouth of the Mississippi. Their presence helped to shape Louisiana cuisine. |
1700 | | South Carolina rice planters harvest more rice than there are ships to export it. Still, 300 tons of Lowcountry rice is shipped to England and 30 more to the West Indies. |
Variation