Read Online A Love Affair with Southern Cooking by Jean Anderson - Free Book Online

they toast so that they brown evenly; cool before using.
     
    2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
    2 teaspoons baking powder
    ½ teaspoon baking soda
    1 teaspoon salt
    ½ teaspoon ground hot red pepper (cayenne)
    1 / 3 cup firmly packed lard or vegetable shortening
    1 tablespoon butter
    ½ cup lightly toasted benne or sesame seeds (see Note above)
    ¾ cup buttermilk
1. Preheat the oven to 425° F.
2. Combine the flour, baking powder, soda, salt, and cayenne in a large mixing bowl, then, using a pastry blender or two knives, cut in the lard and butter until the texture of coarse meal. Add the benne, toss well, then make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients.
3. Pour in the buttermilk and fork briskly just until the mixture comes together, forming a soft dough. Turn onto a lightly floured surface, knead lightly 8 to 10 times, then, using a lightly floured rolling pin, roll to a thickness of about ½ inch.
4. Cut into 1-inch rounds using a floured small biscuit cutter (or even a bottle cap), and space about 1½ inches apart on ungreased baking sheets.
5. Bake in the lower third of the oven for 15 to 20 minutes or until lightly browned.
6. Split, butter while hot, and serve warm. Or, if you prefer, cool to room temperature, split, and fill with the thinnest slivers of Smithfield ham. Pass with cocktails or set out on a party buffet.
    SHIRT TAIL PIES
    MAKES 6
    Not very sweet, these Appalachian apple turnovers are more snack than dessert and because they travel well, they’ve been a lunch-pail staple for years. In parts of the Blue Ridge and Smokies they’re called “fried pies,” but I prefer “Shirt Tail” it’s a perfect description of how the crimped edges ripple in the hot fat. Many country people still grow and dry their own apples; the rest of us can find dried apples at the nearest supermarket.
    Filling
    2 cups dried apples
    2 cups water
    1 / 3 cup sugar
    ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
    1 / 8 teaspoon ground ginger
    1 / 8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
    Pastry
    2¼ cups sifted all-purpose flour
    ½ teaspoon salt
    1 / 3 cup firmly packed lard or vegetable shortening
    ½ cup ice water (about)
    For Deep-Fat Frying
    2 quarts vegetable oil (about)
1. For the filling: Bring the apples and water to a boil in a large, heavy nonreactive saucepan over moderate heat. Adjust the heat so the water barely ripples, cover, and simmer for about 1 hour or until the apples are soft. Uncover, reduce the heat to its lowest point, and simmer until all water has evaporated. Mix in the sugar, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg and cool to room temperature.
2. Meanwhile, prepare the pastry: Combine the flour and salt in a large mixing bowl, then,using a pastry blender, cut in the lard until the texture of coarse meal. Add the ice water slowly, forking all the while, just until the pastry holds together.
3. Roll the pastry slightly thinner than pie crust on a lightly floured surface, then cut into rounds using a 6-inch saucer as a template. Gather and reroll the scraps; you should have six pastry rounds.
4. Scoop about 1 / 3 cup of the apple mixture into the center of each round, moisten the edges all around with water, then fold over. Pinch the edges to seal, crimp with the tines of a fork, then prick one side of each pie several times to allow steam to escape.
5. Pour the oil to a depth of 1½ to 2 inches in a deep-fat fryer or large, deep skillet; insert a deep-fat thermometer and set over moderately high heat.
6. When the fat reaches 375° F., ease in one pie and fry for 4 to 5 minutes, turning as needed so that both sides brown evenly. Lift to paper toweling to drain. Fry and drain the remaining pies the same way.
7. Serve warm or at room temperature. They’re delicious either way.
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    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