Heiskell - What can I bring?: Southern food for any occasion life serves up

What Can I Bring?

SOUTHERN FOOD FOR ANY OCCASION LIFE SERVES UP

by Elizabeth Heiskell

What Can I Bring?

SOUTHERN FOOD FOR ANY OCCASION LIFE SERVES UP

Contents

Potluck

WEDNESDAY NIGHTS ARE POTLUCK AT THE BAPTIST CHURCH IN ROSEDALE. SLOW COOKERS ARE EVERYWHERE. ALL THE EXTENSION CORDS MAKE THE FELLOWSHIP HALL LOOK LIKE A MISSISSIPPI ROAD MAP. ON THE FARM, I LIKE TO TAKE COVERED DISH FEASTS INTO THE FIELD, SO ITS LESS ABOUT KEEPING IT ALL HOT AND MORE ABOUT MAKING IT PORTABLE, DELICIOUS, AND PRETTY.

Garlic Cheese Grits Souffl

There was a product that they sold at the Piggly Wiggly in Rosedale. It was a type of garlic cheese. It came in a log, tightly sealed in plastic, and fastened on the ends with metal clampsexactly like you find breakfast sausage. This cheese was the go-to product for every Southern cooks garlic cheese grits. When it was discontinued, the Delta went into panic mode. Women could be seen rifling through the cheese section desperate to find it and begging the store manager to restock it. Kraft did make another product that was said to be the same, but it was in a can with a squeeze top, otherwise known as Easy Cheese. Cheese in a shrink-wrapped log was celebrated in the Delta; cheese in a can, not so much. Originally this grits souffl called for the famous garlic cheese log, so I had to adapt the recipe. Every time a good friend of mine eats this, she exclaims, It was just so much better with the garlic log, Elizabeth! I just think, Why, Kraft, why? This recipe is so darned delicious, you wont have a clue what youre missing... unless, of course, you once experienced grits made with that long-lost, beloved log.

Serves: 8

Hands-on: 20 minutes

Total: 1 hour, 20 minutes

4 cups water

1 cup uncooked quick-cooking grits

1 teaspoons table salt

3 ounces (6 tablespoons) salted butter

1 tablespoon sherry

1 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoons liquid from hot peppers in vinegar

teaspoon granulated garlic

5 ounces sharp Cheddar cheese, shredded (about 1 cups)

1 large egg, beaten

Garnish: chopped fresh chives

Preheat the oven to 300F. Bring the water to a boil in a saucepan over medium-high; stir in the grits and salt. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook until most of the water is absorbed, about 5 minutes. Add the butter, sherry, Worcestershire sauce, hot pepper liquid, garlic, and 1 cup of the cheese; stir until well combined. Fold in the egg until combined.

Spoon into a greased 2-quart baking dish; sprinkle with the remaining cup cheese. Bake in the preheated oven until bubbly, about 1 hour. Garnish, if desired.

Note: Grits may be prepared 1 day ahead and refrigerated before baking. Bring to room temperature, and bake just before serving.

Deloriss Fried Chicken

God must have known that I needed an angel in my life after I had my second child, Mary Paxton. Thats when Deloris came to work with me. Not only was she an angel, she was an angel who could fry chicken. How could I have been so lucky? Humans were not born knowing how to fry chicken; its not like breathing. Now, that being said, some people do have a true talent for it. Enter Deloris Franklin. Like baseball, practice makes perfect. Work hard, practice often, and dont get discouragedbecause it is so worth it.

Serves: 4

Hands-on: 45 minutes

Total: 45 minutes

1 (5- to 5 -pound) whole chicken, cut into pieces

2 cups (about 8 ounces) all-purpose flour

3 tablespoons Cajun seasoning

3 tablespoons seasoned salt (such as Lawrys)

2 tablespoons Greek seasoning blend (such as Cavenders All Purpose Greek Seasoning)

1 tablespoon black pepper

Peanut oil

Pat dry the chicken pieces with a paper towel, removing and discarding excess fat.

Whisk together the flour, Cajun seasoning, seasoned salt, Greek seasoning, and pepper in a large bowl. Working with 1 piece at a time, dredge the chicken pieces in the flour mixture.

Pour the peanut oil to a depth of 4 inches into a cast-iron or heavy-bottomed Dutch oven. Heat over medium-high to 325F. (Adjust the heat as necessary to maintain even temperature.) Fry the chicken, 3 or 4 pieces at a time, until browned and crisp and a meat thermometer inserted in the chicken registers 165F. Keep chicken warm in a 200F oven.

Cola-Brown Sugar Ham

Coke, brown sugar, and ham... need I say more? Lots of basting is the key to a ham that is magazine-cover worthy. As soon as the ham comes out of the oven, baste with the syrup from the bottom of the pan for a dark, lacquered finish.

Serves: 12

Hands-on: 20 minutes

Total: 3 hours, 20 minutes

2 cups packed light brown sugar

1 (12-ounce) can cola soft drink

cup spicy brown mustard

3 tablespoons orange zest, plus cup fresh juice (from 4 oranges)

1 (15- to 18-pound) fully cooked, bone-in spiral-cut ham

Preheat the oven to 275F. Stir together the brown sugar, cola soft drink, mustard, orange zest, and orange juice in a medium saucepan over medium-low, and cook, stirring occasionally, until sugar melts, about 10 minutes.

Place the ham on a heavy-duty aluminum foil-lined, large rimmed baking sheet or in a shallow roasting pan. Brush the ham with 1 cups of the brown sugar mixture. Bake the ham 2 hours and 30 minutes to 3 hours, basting every 30 minutes with cup brown sugar mixture. Let stand 30 minutes before serving.