RECIPE: Late Night Turkey Sandwich

Ingredients:
Butter or mayonnaise
3 slices white bread
2 slices turkey
2 slices stuffing
1 tablespoon cranberry sauce
Gravy

Spread butter or mayonnaise on two slices of bread and dip (or soak) the other in gravy.

Place a slice of turkey on one slice of buttered bread and top with a slice of stuffing and cranberry sauce. Place the gravy-dipped bread on top and then the other slices of turkey and stuffing. Finish with the other slice of bread.
Heat sandwich in the microwave for 10 seconds and enjoy.

Cornbread, Apple and Sausage Dressing

Ingredients:
8 ounces bulk pork sausage
2 cups chopped unpeeled apple
3/4 cup chopped onion
1/3 cup butter or margarine
1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
6 cups coarsely crumbled corn bread
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/4 to 1/2 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth

Heat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a large skillet, cook sausage until brown. Remove sausage; drain and set aside.
Drain fat from skillet. In the same skillet, cook apple and onion in hot butter until tender. Remove from heat. Stir in poultry seasoning and black pepper.
In a large bowl, combine sausage, apple mixture, corn bread and parsley. Drizzle with enough chicken broth to moisten, tossing gently. Transfer to a greased 2-quart casserole.
Cover and bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until heated through.
Serves 8.

Best Cranberry Side Dish Ever

Ingredients:
2 cups dry Marsala
1/2 cup dried tart cherries
1 12-ounce bag cranberries
12 ounces frozen dark sweet cherries (about 2 2/3 cups), halved
1 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice

Combine Marsala and dried cherries in deep saucepan. Boil until mixture is reduced to 2/3 cup, about 8 minutes. Mix in remaining ingredients. Bring to boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to medium, cover pan and simmer until cranberries burst and mixture thickens, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes. Transfer to bowl. Refrigerate until cold, about 3 hours. (Can be prepared 1 week ahead. Cover; keep refrigerated.)

Alton Brown's Brined Turkey

Ingredients

1 (14 to 16 pound) frozen young turkey
For the brine:
1 cup kosher salt
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 gallon vegetable stock
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
1/2 tablespoon allspice berries
1/2 tablespoon candied ginger
1 gallon iced water
For the aromatics:
1 red apple, sliced
1/2 onion, sliced
1 cinnamon stick
1 cup water
4 sprigs rosemary
6 leaves sage
Canola oil
Directions
Combine all brine ingredients, except ice water, in a stockpot, and bring to a boil. Stir to dissolve solids, then remove from heat, cool to room temperature, and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled.

Early on the day of cooking, (or late the night before) combine the brine and ice water in a clean 5-gallon bucket. Place thawed turkey breast side down in brine, cover, and refrigerate or set in cool area (like a basement) for 6 hours. Turn turkey over once, half way through brining.

A few minutes before roasting, heat oven to 500 degrees. Combine the apple, onion, cinnamon stick, and cup of water in a microwave safe dish and microwave on high for 5 minutes.

Remove bird from brine and rinse inside and out with cold water. Discard brine.

Place bird on roasting rack inside wide, low pan and pat dry with paper towels. Add steeped aromatics to cavity along with rosemary and sage. Tuck back wings and coat whole bird liberally with canola (or other neutral) oil.

Roast on lowest level of the oven at 500 degrees F. for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and cover breast with double layer of aluminum foil, insert probe thermometer into thickest part of the breast and return to oven, reducing temperature to 350 degrees F. Set thermometer alarm (if available) to 161 degrees. A 14 to 16 pound bird should require a total of 2 to 2 1/2 hours of roasting. Let turkey rest, loosely covered for 15 minutes before carving.

Bulah Dinsmore's Pecan Pie

1 stick butter or margarine

1 cup white sugar

1/2 cup white Karo yrup

1/2 cup dark Karo syrup

2 Tbsp flour

3 eggs, well beaten

1-1/2 cup chopped pecans

1 tsp. vanilla

Pie Shell(s)

Mix flour, sugar and melted butter. Stir in eggs, syrups, vanilla and pecans. Pour into unbaked pie shell. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes or until done. This makes 1 large or 2 small pies.

Butter Beans

"Just a bowl of Butter Beans,
Pass the cornbread if you please,
I don't want no collard Greens,
Just a bowl of Butter beans!"
-Sung by "Peanuts" the banjo player at the origional Ruby Reds Warehouse in the Old (First) Underground Atlanta.

Everything Ya Always Wanted To Know About Butter Beans....
Butter beans, sometimes called lima beans, are a seed, and are considered a vegetable. They are of the genus and species Phaseolus lunatus, and have two main varieties. The first variety is a large slightly curved flat green bean that those in the Southern US would refer to as lima beans or the lima type. A second type of P. lunatus has smaller seeds and is often called the sieva type. When Southern US cuisine mentions butter beans, they are referring to the smaller sieva seed.

RECIPE:
Butter beans with Chicken and Seasonings

Ingredients:
3 c. butter beans, fresh or frozen
1 sm. chicken, cut up or parts desired
1 c. minced onion
1 chopped red bell pepper
2 tbsp. corn oil
3 tbsp. browning sauce or roux
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. red pepper
1 1/4 c. water (more if needed)
Preparation:

Lightly brown chicken parts in a heavy pot. Remove and saute onions and bell pepper in same pot. Add butter beans and water; cook for about 20 minutes. Then add browning sauce or roux, chicken, salt and pepper; cook slowly until chicken and beans are tender. Add more seasoning, if desired.

Streak O'Lean

A Southern dish that is as good with vegetables as with breakfast food. Also known as Fatback.

Milk

Flour

Cooking Oil

Select the number of slices needed. Soak several hours in milk; drain. Coat with flour. Fry over medium heat in small amount of oil until crisp (be sure it is done). Drain on absorbent paper.

Yield: Allow 2 slices per person.

Miss Verna Morris Wright's PUMPKIN CAKE

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup Oil

2 cups Sugar

4 Eggs

1 pint Pumpkin

2 cups Flour

2 tsp Soda

2 tsp Cinnamon

Mix Oil, Sugar, Eggs and Pumpkin. Ad sifes dry ingredients. Cook in three greased and floured pans at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

FILLING:

1 cup Brown Sugar

1/2 cup White Sugar

2 tsp Flour

1 cup Milk

Combine ingredients and cook until thick. Add 1 cup Raisins, 1 cup Coconut, and 1 cup Nuts. Put on top of each layer.

Sunday Dinner (aka Lunch) at Hopewell

This is some of the food served today after services at Hopewell Baptist Church. I sampled REAL Southern food such as....

HOMINY

Homemade PEPPER SAUCE For the Greens

BUTTER BEANS

STRICKOLEAN

FRIED OKRA

SWEET POTATO PIE

STRAWBERRY CAKE

The buffets at Hopewell are incredible. These folks know how to cook!!