Chickens in the Road Page 24
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 large egg
⅓ cup oil
1 cup chopped pepperoni
½ cup shredded mozzarella
4 cups all-purpose flour
For the filling:
Mozzarella or pepper jack cheese (about 2 cups)
Pepperoni, cut into 4-inch-long pencil-width sticks
Banana pepper rings (about 1½ cups)
In a large bowl, combine the water, yeast, salt, sugar, minced garlic, egg, oil, chopped pepperoni, and mozzarella cheese. Let sit 5 minutes. Stir in the first cup and a half of flour with a heavy spoon. Add the next cup of flour a little at a time as needed, stirring until the dough becomes too stiff to continue stirring easily. Add a little more flour and begin kneading. Continue adding flour and kneading until the dough is smooth and elastic. Let the dough rise in a greased, covered bowl until doubled (usually, about an hour). Uncover the bowl; sprinkle in a little more flour and knead again before dividing in half into two balls.
Working with one half of the dough at a time, roll each ball of dough out onto a floured surface into a rectangle (approximately 8 x 12 inches). Sprinkle flour over the dough to keep from sticking as you roll. Make one slice lengthwise down the dough. Now slicing horizontally, make a slice across the middle, then again, until you have eight pieces. Sprinkle with cheese. Place pepperoni sticks on each piece. Add peppers. Roll up each piece, pinching the seams to seal.
Let rise approximately 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes. (Watch carefully—the size of your rolls will vary the baking time. They’re done when they’ve browned.)
Makes 16 rolls.
FRIED BOLOGNA SANDWICHES
Fried bologna sandwiches are nothing if not an homage to the country palate, which bears no pride, counts no calories, and uplifts even the lowliest of ingredients to the heights of celestial delight. Which is to say that you can actually find fried bologna sandwiches on sit-down restaurant menus around here and in many other parts of the South.
But the best fried bologna sandwiches are made at home!
Oil for frying
Thick, deli-sliced bologna
Deli-sliced cheese
Great bread
Condiments of choice
The three key points in a fried bologna sandwich are the meat, the cheese, and the bread. Start with good, thick, deli-sliced bologna, not the prepackaged stuff.
Choose your cheese—make it some good, deli-sliced cheese, too. And then there’s the bread. Fried bologna sandwiches are traditionally made on white sandwich bread. Homemade sliced Grandmother Bread is perfect.
Heat a small amount of oil on medium-high in a large skillet. (You can use olive oil, lard, bacon grease—whatever oil you prefer.) Carefully score each slice of bologna. Don’t cut the bologna in half—just make a few cuts across the center. (This will help keep the bologna from curling while it’s frying.)
Fry 3 minutes per side. If you burn the edges a little bit, you get a nice caramelized flavor.
Here’s where it gets really subjective. Anybody who grew up with fried bologna sandwiches will tell you that the only way to eat them is the way their mother made them—with mayonnaise or mustard, ketchup or barbecue sauce. I like mayo and a hot pepper butter. I spread both bread slices with mayo and put hot pepper butter between the bologna and the cheese. I like Colby, but any cheese will do. If you grew up with them, the only right way is how your mama did it, so I understand.
My mother never made fried bologna sandwiches. The first time I was introduced to the fried bologna sandwich was when I was living at the Slanted Little House. One day after church, my cousin made one for me. Now I’m a fan. It’s a real comfort food.
Top the bologna with the cheese while still warm and put the sandwich together. If you like, add lettuce, tomato, and onion. Some people even like a fried egg on top. Or if you have a sandwich press, you can grill it.
No matter how you make it, it’s hillbilly heaven. Pass the potato chips.
IRON SKILLET UPSIDE-DOWN PIZZA
A meal in a skillet—and it’s upside down! I first saw this recipe idea in a West Virginia Department of Agriculture pamphlet, and I’ve made it many times since with variations. Change up the meat, the cheese, and the other ingredients for a different dish every time. It’s a flexible, delicious one-pot dinner. If you don’t have an iron skillet, you can also bake this in a greased casserole dish.
½ pound ground sausage
½ pound ground beef
⅓ cup chopped onion
1 tablespoon minced garlic
¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
Approximately 2 ounces sliced pepperoni
1½ cups pizza or spaghetti sauce
1 cup shredded mozzarella
2 large eggs
1 cup milk
¼ teaspoon salt
1½ cups all-purpose flour
½ cup grated Parmesan
Preheat the oven to 400°F.
Cook the ground sausage and beef in a 10-inch skillet. Drain grease. Add the onion, garlic, salt, and Italian seasoning and mix in the skillet. Spread the pepperoni over the meat and onion mixture. Pour on the sauce and top with the cheese. In a bowl, combine the eggs, milk, salt, and flour. Mix well and spoon over the sauce and cheese. (That isn’t a mistake—no baking powder is required.)
Sprinkle the Parmesan on top (and I like to add some extra herbs for decoration). Bake for about 20 minutes, till the pizza crust top is golden and puffy.
BEANS AND CORN BREAD
To start a pot of beans, rinse and sort (to remove any debris that might be in the bag) dried pinto beans. You can use a colander, or you can just use the pot you’re going to cook the beans in. I’m pretty lazy, so I usually don’t get out the colander. Either measure out the quantity of beans desired or just pour the beans into the pot straight out of the bag. After rinsing and sorting, pinto beans require soaking before cooking. You can use one of two methods.
Long soak: Place beans in a large pot and cover with water. Cover with a lid. Let sit at room temperature overnight (or at least 6 hours).
Quick soak: Place beans in a large pot and cover with water. Cover with a lid and bring to a boil. Turn off the heat. Leave covered and let sit 1 hour.
Whichever method you follow, after the soak, drain the pot and replace with fresh water. Draining the soaking water helps eliminate the gases that can make beans hard to digest.
Most country bean cooks will put in a ham bone or some bacon, or at the very least some reserved bacon fat. From there, other additions are to your taste, but some good seasonings include garlic powder and chili powder. I like to add ground red pepper and sometimes red pepper flakes. How much seasoning you need depends on how big a pot of beans you’re making, but for the size pot I typically make (starting with 5 cups dry beans), I add a couple teaspoons each of garlic powder, chili powder, and ground red pepper.
Don’t add salt until the last 30 minutes of cooking. Adding salt directly too early will make your beans tough, and they’ll never soften up right no matter how long you cook them. Plus, if you’ve got a ham bone or bacon in the pot, there’s a lot of salt hiding right there. It takes time as the beans simmer for the salt from the meat to permeate the beans. You don’t know how salty your pot of beans already is until you give it time. When the beans are soft and close to ready for serving, test the beans and add salt, and other additional seasonings, until you’re satisfied. Serve in bowls with chopped onion, hot or mild peppers, shredded cheese, and/or sour cream as optional toppings.
A big pot of beans takes anywhere from 4 to 6 hours (or more) of simmer time. Test your beans for softness periodically as your time will vary from pot to pot, depending on various minor factors. If you find your water getting low in the pot, just add more. (I add it hot.) You always want the beans covered with water while cooking.
You can also cook beans in a Crock-Pot or a pressure cooker, but there’s not
hing like beans simmering on the stovetop all day. And it gives you plenty of time to fix the corn bread.
Bacon fat, lard, or shortening
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup cornmeal
¼ cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
¼ cup salted butter (cut up) or oil
2 large eggs
1 cup milk or buttermilk
Preheat the oven to 425°F.
Grease a cast-iron skillet with reserved bacon fat, lard, or shortening. In a mixing bowl, stir together the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add the butter or oil, eggs, and milk or buttermilk. Stir to combine. Don’t overstir. You want a thick, almost-pourable-but-not consistency. Pour the corn bread mixture into the skillet. If you don’t have a cast-iron skillet, you can use a greased 8-inch-square pan. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until browned.
MAKING FLOUR TORTILLAS
Making tortillas at home is simple, and they’re so much more delicious than the ones from the store. These flour tortillas are great for burritos, enchiladas, or just melting butter on them to roll up hot and eat fresh from the skillet.
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
¼ cup lard or shortening
1 cup lukewarm water
Mix the flour and salt in a medium-size bowl. Cut in the lard or shortening with a pastry cutter. Stir in the water and mix the dough as much as possible with a spoon. The dough will appear dry. Knead as you would any yeast bread dough until the mixture becomes a pliable ball. Cover the bowl and let rest for about 20 minutes. Sprinkle a bit of flour in the bowl and knead again briefly. Divide the dough into 12 balls. Preheat a cast-iron skillet on medium-high. Because the tortillas are cooked dry, with no oil, cast iron is best.
Taking one ball of tortilla dough at a time, flour waxed paper and stretch the ball a bit to get started. Place the dough on the floured wax paper and sprinkle flour on top of the dough. Roll out each tortilla as thinly as possible without breaking the dough.
If the dough sticks as you pull it up, you aren’t using enough flour. It should pull off the waxed paper easily.
Cook each tortilla quickly, about 30 seconds per side. Place cooked tortillas in a tortilla keeper or in foil. Keep wrapped while continuing to cook the remaining tortillas.
This recipe makes twelve 6- to 8-inch tortillas. To make larger tortillas, divide your ball of dough into fewer portions. (Remember to not make larger tortillas than you have a skillet to cook them in.) To store tortillas, place in sealed baggies in the refrigerator. They keep well for a week or more in the fridge. You can vary the recipe in endless ways—substitute whole-grain flour or add crushed hot peppers, chopped olives, anything you like for gourmet tortillas.
FRIED STUFFED SQUASH BLOSSOMS
Even if your garden doesn’t burst with produce, most likely, if you’ve got a garden, there’s still too much squash and zucchini. My favorite way of circumventing the sometimes unwelcome bounty each summer is frying up the blossoms. (You can use any kind of squash blossoms, including pumpkin.)
This recipe will stuff 6 to 8 squash blossoms, depending on the size. Note: Squash blossoms are best picked in the morning and they don’t keep well. Use as quickly as possible after harvesting. If not using for a day or two, refrigerate.
To make fried stuffed squash blossoms:
Fresh squash flowers
6 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 tablespoon fresh (or 1 teaspoon dried) chives
2 tablespoons onion, minced
1 large egg
½ cup milk
½ cup all-purpose flour
¼ cup cornmeal
½ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon salt
Dash of pepper
Oil for frying
Pick the squash blossoms. (If you choose male flowers, which grow on longer, thinner stems, you’ll avoid reducing your crop . . . if that’s what you want to do!) Cut the stems off at the base and clip out the stamens from the inside. Rinse thoroughly, shake off excess water, and let the blossoms air-dry on paper towels.
Combine the softened cream cheese with the chives and onion. Spoon about an ounce into the center of each blossom (less if you’re using smaller flowers). Close the blossoms by folding the petals over the mixture. Whisk the egg and milk together in one bowl and mix the flour, cornmeal, garlic powder, salt, and pepper in another. Dip the closed blossoms in the wet then the dry mixture until well coated. Fry in oil over medium heat until browned on both sides. Drain and serve with a creamy dip.
SUMMER VEGETABLE PIE
Even if you don’t have a garden of your own overflowing with squash and zucchini, somebody you know does, and he or she will be dropping vegetables off with you by the bagful. Or just setting them on your front porch and running. Not that there’s anything wrong with squash and zucchini, but I’m always looking for squash and zucchini ideas.
½ cup halved cherry tomatoes
1 cup yellow squash, chopped
1½ cups zucchini, chopped
1 cup onion, chopped
4 large eggs
1 cup baking mix (such as Quick Mix)
½ cup sour cream
1 tablespoon olive oil
½ cup grated Monterey Jack or cheddar cheese
1 tablespoon minced garlic
½ teaspoon Italian seasoning
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Combine the chopped vegetables in a large bowl. Add the eggs, baking mix, sour cream, oil, cheese, garlic, and seasonings. Mix well. Pour into a greased 9-inch pie pan. Bake for approximately 40 minutes.
More ideas: Instead of cherry tomatoes, squash, zucchini, and onion, use 4 cups of whatever you like. Use all zucchini, all squash, or any combination of your favorite vegetables. You can even substitute a cup of cooked, chopped, or ground meat for 1 cup of the vegetables for a main course. Use different cheeses and seasonings. Anything goes in this pie.
COUNTRY-STYLE GREEN BEANS
Everybody’s got an opinion about how to cook up a mess of fresh beans, but here’s how I do it.
1 quart green beans, fresh
¼ pound sliced peppered bacon, chopped in pieces*
1 medium-sized onion
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon seasoned salt
Water
Wash the green beans; drain. Chop the bacon in pieces. Start the bacon frying on medium in a large pot. Slice the onion and add to the pot to cook with the bacon. I love the caramelized taste to the onions that comes from frying them along with the bacon. You can add more or less onion, and slice it any way you like.
When the bacon is about half cooked (just starting to brown a little bit), add the green beans. (Don’t drain the bacon grease. Well, you can drain a little bit, if you must, but don’t go out of control here.) Add the sugar, salt, seasoned salt, and just enough water to cover. Bring to a boil. Turn the heat down, cover the pot, and simmer for at least 45 minutes.
I like to stop right here, but if you really want to cook them down hard, after the 45 minutes you can take the lid off and turn up the heat. If my cousin is coming over, I keep going until almost every bit of liquid is cooked down because he likes them cooked until dead.
When the beans are cooked to your liking, adjust seasonings to taste. This is a fantastic down-home side dish, or a meal all by itself.
* If you aren’t using peppered bacon, you’ll want to add some pepper.
POPPING POPCORN
Popcorn is the perfect natural snack, much healthier than chips, and it’s cheap, cheap, cheap! But not so cheap if you’re buying it in those microwave packages. You can make popcorn for pennies on the top of your stove. You can season it up a thousand different ways to suit yourself and make your own gourmet popcorn.
Making old-fashioned popcorn on the top of the stove is almost a
lost art in today’s world of microwave popcorn and fancy air poppers. Ask average kids today how to make popcorn, and a good number of them are likely to tell you how many minutes it takes in the microwave. There’s a little bit of a trick to making good popcorn, with no burning and few old maids (unpopped kernels), but it’s easy once you know how.
The simplest popcorn, flavored with nothing more than butter and salt, is my favorite most of the time, but sometimes I also like to add a little sugar or even some cinnamon-sugar. Occasionally, I get adventurous and try some other spices or herbs. Good ones to try are cayenne, garlic, and pepper. Whenever I make popcorn, I make a big pot and snack on it for days. Store prepared popcorn in an airtight container.
This is the size recipe I make in my 5-quart pot. You can cut the measurements in half for a smaller pot. If you’ve never made anything but air-popped or microwave popcorn, here’s how to make real popcorn, the old-fashioned way.
¼ cup vegetable oil
⅔ cup popcorn kernels
Salt to taste
Butter to taste
Put the vegetable oil in the bottom of a large pot. Place three popcorn kernels in the pot. Turn the heat to medium-high. Watch for the kernels to pop. They’ll be popping before you know it—don’t go away! Once all three have popped, add all the popcorn and the salt, put on the lid, and remove the pot from the heat for 30 seconds. This allows the rest of the popcorn to warm up before returning to heat, which will mean fewer unpopped kernels in the end.
Note: Adding the salt before popping helps evenly distribute the salt throughout the popcorn. I use two teaspoons of salt.
Put the pot back on medium-high. Using oven mitts to hold the pot, begin shaking the entire pot over the burner. Try to hold the lid on the pot as you shake so that the cover is just slightly cracked—this helps vent steam and make your popcorn crisp. Continue shaking the pot until you don’t hear kernels popping anymore. Remove from heat. Drizzle (lavishly!) with butter and/or whatever else suits your fancy. Goodies you can add in to a bowl of popcorn include red hots, M&Ms or other candies, all kinds of nuts but especially cashews and peanuts, raisins and other dried fruit pieces, pretzels, or cereal.