Field to Feast has recipes from all over our peerless state of Florida. This one for Minorcan Black Beans comes from “Old St. Augustine.” In 2004, Craig and Barbie Raynor took over the reins of the company of the late Jerry Millen, a botanist by trade, and named it “Taste of Old St. Augustine.” It became a division of their specialty-foods business.
Said Barbie, “Our mission is to foster awareness of our great, ancient city through the creation of wonderful-tasting products.” Their datil-based products include two types of hot sauce, barbecue sauce, two marinades, a spice blend, and other seasonal products, which are made in small batches using locally raised ingredients.
Small yellow, and fiery hot datil peppers are deeply rooted in both St. Augustine culture and the culture of the local Minorcans, descendants of immigrants from the Spanish island of Minorca, who have been in St. Augustine since the 1700s. It’s believed that the peppers most likely came from the Caribbean, but they grow only in Florida today. Datils, which are in the same family as super-spicy habaneros but with a sweeter flavor, are heavily used in Minorcan cooking.
Loraine Wright shares her Rio Grande Pork Roast with us through Pot-Pourri of Zellwood’s publication put out by the Zellwood Community Center.
One of Southern Living All-Time Favorites recipes is an Editor’s Choice. Maw-Maw’s Chicken Pie. Their comments: “This simple recipe gives rise to a golden, cakelike crust that won rave reviews at the tasting table. Try replacing a portion of the chicken with an equal amount of frozen, thawed vegetables, or stir a cup of shredded cheese into the soup mixture. We especially enjoyed the pie with broccoli and Cheddar cheese.”
Charleston Receipts shares Mrs. Cain’s Baked Rice. This puts a new spin on our favorite old staple: rice!
Apple and Pecan Acorn squash from Southern Living will be delicious. The biggest challenge is in cutting the squash in half. Be very careful.
Here is an Apple Sauce Cake recipe from The Original Country Cookbook, a little soft-cover recipe book I have loved for many years.
MINORCAN BLACK BEANS
Recipe from FIELD TO FEAST
1 pound dried black beans
1 ham hock
1/4 cup olive oil
3 red or green bell peppers, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 onions, diced
1/4 pound Spanish chorizo
sausage, sliced
1/4 cup sherry vinegar or
red-wine vinegar
4 bay leaves
1/2 fresh datil pepper, minced, or 1 teaspoon datil hot sauce
Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Cooked white rice, for serving
Chopped raw onion, for garnish
Chopped fresh parsley, for
garnish
Datil hot sauce, for garnish
1) Soak beans in cold water to cover overnight. In the morning, drain beans and place in a large stockpot with ham hock and enough water to cover by 2 inches. Do not add salt (yet). 2) Simmer, partially covered, over low heat for 3 to 4 hours until beans are tender, adding water as necessary to keep beans submerged. 3) Meanwhile, heat oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add bell peppers, garlic, and onions and saute until softened, for 4 to 5 minutes. 4) When beans are tender, add cooked vegetables, chorizo, vinegar, bay leaves, and fresh datil or datil hot sauce. Add salt and pepper to taste. 5) Simmer, covered, for 1 hour to blend flavors. Add water, if necessary, so beans do not become too thick or dry. 6) Serve beans over cooked white rice and garnish with onion, parsley, and extra datil hot sauce on the side.
Six servings.
LORAINE WRIGHT’S RIO GRANDE PORK ROAST
Recipe from POT-POURRI OF ZELLWOOD
The Zellwood Community Center
4-5 pound boneless rolled pork loin roast
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon chili powder – twice
1/2 cup apple jelly
1/2 cup catsup
1 tablespoon vinegar
1 cup crushed corn chips
1) Place pork, fat side up, on rack in shallow roasting pan. 2) Combine the salt, garlic salt and the first 1/2 teaspoon chili powder, and rub into roast. 3) Roast in 325-degree oven for 2 to 2-1/2 hours or if you use a meat thermometer, until it registers 165 degrees. 4) In small saucepan, combine jelly, catsup, vinegar, and the remaining chili powder. 5) Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 2-3 minutes. 6) Brush roast with glaze. 7) Sprinkle top with crushed corn chips. 8) Continue roasting for 15 minutes more or until thermometer registers 170 degrees. 9) Remove roast from oven. Let stand 10 minutes. 10) Measure pan drippings, including any chips. Add water to make 1 cup. 11) Heat to boiling and pass around with meat.
MAW-MAW’S CHICKEN PIE
Recipe from Southern Living
All-Time Favorites
4 cups chopped cooked chicken
1 (10-3/4-ounce) can cream of chicken soup, undiluted
1-1/2 cups chicken broth
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1-1/2 cups self-rising flour
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup butter, melted
1. Place chopped chicken in a lightly greased 12- x 8-inch baking dish. Whisk together soup, broth, and cornstarch; pour mixture evenly over chicken. 2. Whisk together flour, buttermilk, and butter; spoon batter evenly over chicken mixture. 3. Bake at 400 degrees for 40 minutes or until crust is golden brown.
Makes 8 servings.
MRS. FRANK CAIN’s (PARHAM ATKINS) BAKED RICE
Recipe from Charleston Receipts, America’s Oldest Junior League Cookbook in Print,
a Cookbook by The Junior League of Charleston, Inc.
1/2 pint (1 cup) rice
1 dessert spoon* (2 teaspoons) butter
1 pint (2 cups) milk
1 egg
1 teaspoon salt
Cook rice dry and fluffy; put in quart baking dish with butter and milk, a beaten egg and salt. Bake 1/2 hour in moderate (350 degrees) oven. Serves 4.
*1 dessert spoon equals two teaspoons whereas a tablespoon is three teaspoons.
APPLE AND PECAN
ACORN SQUASH
SOUTHERN LIVING’S ALL TIME FAVORITES, 2009
2 medium acorn squash, about 1-1/4 pounds each
1 cup peeled, chopped
cooking apple
1/4 cup firmly packed brown
sugar
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/4 teaspoon apple pie spice
1/4 cup chopped pecans, toasted
1) Cut squash in half crosswise, and remove seeds. Cut a thin slice from bottom of each squash half to sit flat, if necessary. Place squash halves, cut sides up, in a 13- x 9-inch baking dish. Add hot water in dish to depth of 1 inch. 2) Combine apple and next 3 ingredients; spoon evenly into squash halves. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until squash is tender. Sprinkle with pecans.
Makes 4 servings.
APPLE SAUCE CAKE
Recipe from Paragon Products, Inc., The Original Country
Cookbook
2 cups brown sugar
1 cup butter
2-1/2 cups flour
1 cup raisins
2 cups apple sauce
1 cup nut meats of your choice
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
Cream sugar and butter together. Add raisins, apple sauce, and nutmeats. Sift flour, spices, and soda together and add to mixture. Gradually beat after each addition.
Bake in 375-degree oven for 30 minutes,
