Down south, southern cooking is the center of interest and plays a pivotal role in most functions and activities. Cooking Southern style, is not for the faint of heart, though it can cause many hearts to grow faint. For the health conscious, the cooking style in the south, for the most part is not fat free, and it is considered unhealthy, but delicious Downhome cooking is totally about how you add spices and seasonings to your food. Southern cooking is a labor of love. Classical southern cooking is for both serious culinary devotees and casual dabblers. Southern style is known for its delicious flavor and variety of dishes as well. And the great thing about southern cooking is that it is all so simple, most ingredients are flour, water, butter (or other fat), salt, pepper, meat. Well, I guess for me personally, cooking southern is not fancy, I was raised on biscuits, gravy and fried potatoes.
A southern meal always comes in ample portions, and is always well seasoned. As always, the main thing to remember about southern cooking is to keep it authentic. One of the trademarks of southern cooking is simplicity. “we’ve always thought the hallmark of 20th-century southern cooking is its spirited resourcefulness, "turning thrift into indulgence with a wink". A lot of southern cooking is, a derivative of African cooking. A cultural adaptation by African-Americans from the ancestral cooking ways, that enabled them to stretch what they had to survive. Southern cooking is indulgent, and traditional southern desserts are no exception. Now If southern cooking is more your style (that is, if butter is more your style) Paula Deen's Place would be the perfect home to spend Thanksgiving. If you have never had southern cooking, here are three recipes for you to try.
NOTE: I prepared the Pork chops with Apple gravy, it was good, but, in my opinion the one Tablespoon of salt is a bit much. I think it should be cut in half or eliminated. And seasoned to taste when eaten.
These recipes are courtesy of: Downhome Southern Cooking (at it's best)
Pork Chops in Apple Gravy
8 pork chops(approx. 3lbs.)
1/4 cup butter
1 Tbsp. finely minced garlic
1/3 cup flour
1 Tbsp. salt
1/8 tsp. black peppe3 cups boiling water
1 cup applesauce
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
In a large skillet, brown pork chops well on both sides in butter. Arrange them in a 3 quart casserole dish.Saute garlic in the fat and butter left in skillet. Add to this, flour, salt, pepper and mix well. Pour in boiling water; cook, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and boils. Remove from heat and stir in applesauce and lemon juice. Pour this over the chops and cover. Bake at 425 for one hour and 30 minutes, basting occasionally.
serves 8
Handmade Buttermilk Biscuits
2 cups plain flour
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. shortening
3/4 cup (approx.) buttermilk
Stir dry ingredients together. Cut in shortening and add milk slowly, stirring until dough is soft and moist then kneed lightly. Pinch off 2 inch balls of dough and roll by hand until round. Place in pan 2 inches apart and flatten slightly. Bake at 450 for 10 to 15 min. or until golden brown.
Apple Pecan Cake
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
2 cups sugar
3 cups plain flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2 tsps. vanilla
3 eggs
3 cups tart apples (peeled & chopped)
1 cup chopped pecans
Mix the sugar, eggs, vanilla and oil. Sift the dry ingredients together and add to the sugar mixture, mix well. Last, fold in the apples and pecans. Bake in a greased and floured tube pan at 325 for one hour. Turn out and allow to cool completely before icing. (see below)
Icing
1 stick of butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 cup of evaporated milk
Bring the sugar and butter to a boil. Add the vanilla and milk and return to a boil. Let it cool and then pour over the cake.
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