
How about Baby Back Ribs (or Chicken) done in the slow cooker?
In his book Hearty Country Cooking, Mark Sohn says, “With this slow-cooker barbecue, you combine opposites: old and new, fast and slow. The combination of slow cooking and fast grilling makes these ribs tender and crisp. When you add a few grilled vegetables, you have another opposite that brings balance: light vegetables and rich pork (or chicken) barbecue. “Slow cooking results in tender ribs, and fast cooking yields flavor. I cook the ribs indoors in a slow-cooker, and outdoors on a grill. The result is a tender, succulent serving, soft meat inside and crisp with burned edges outside.”
From Hearty Country Cooking , we also have Mark Sohn’s Fried Green Tomatoes, with step-by-step instructions for a successful fry! He even gives a healthy choice alternative. Mark says, “In the movie Fried Green Tomatoes, the characters eat fried tomatoes for breakfast, a birthday celebration, an afternoon snack, and fresh out of the skillet at the Whistle Stop Café. I suggest serving fried green tomatoes for breakfast with bacon, eggs, and corn bread, or for dinner as a side-dish vegetable.”
Mark’s Peach Cobbler recipe from Hearty Country Cooking has only seven ingredients, two steps, and 45 minutes of baking. He says this recipe is moderate in difficulty. You can find peaches in your market now, but if you have another fruit you would like to use, say apples or berries, they would certainly work, as well. If berries, you may want to hold the cinnamon, but add a little lemon juice or lemon zest.
Mark says, “From the Alleghenies to the Smokies and from the Blue Ridge west to the Highland Rim, this shortcake-style or biscuit-type cobbler is a favorite.” And, I say, right here in Central Florida, where we love all sorts of fruit, we are sure to love this recipe!
Mrs. Hilda Vincent contributed her recipe for Lurvada’s Bread Pudding. to Stew-Pot Favorites of Zellwood There is a note at the bottom that declares, “This is a Plymouth Citrus Produce Cooperation recipe.”
From Stew Pot Favorites of Zellwood, we have Cheese Biscuits from Mrs. Ruth McGowan. She says they will keep indefinitely in your freezer! They look quite “Cheesy!”
MARK SOHN’S
BABY BACK RIBS
Recipe from
Hearty Country Cooking
Ingredients:
2 sides baby back ribs (racks weigh 1-3/4 pounds, and are
to 24 inches long)
2 cups Texas-Style Barbecue Sauce or commercial sauce such as Kraft Thick ‘n Spicy or Mesquite Smoke)
Yield: 6 servings
Cut each side of ribs so that it will fit into your slow-cooker. Cut the side of ribs into as few pieces as possible. Place the ribs in the slow-cooker and cook at medium for 10 hours. The temperature in the crock pot should stay at about 165 degrees Fahrenheit.
Fifteen minutes before serving time, heat a gas grill. When the grill is hot, move the ribs from the slow-cooker to the grill. Watch the ribs carefully or you may burn them. After you grill the ribs for 2 minutes on each side, use a pastry brush to brush the top (tips down, convex side up) side of the ribs with barbecue sauce. To keep the sauce from burning, I don’t put it on the bottom. Put the ribs back on the grill, sauce side up, and grill for another 1 to 2 minutes. Add more sauce and grill 1 more minute.
Tip: to grill soft vegetables such as eggplant, summer squash, bell peppers, and mushrooms, cut them up, put them on a skewer and grill for 10 minutes. For hard vegetables such as onions, celery, carrots, and beets, boil until tender and then grill 10 minutes.
While you can serve grilled foods immediately, there is no need to rush your vegetables or ribs to the table. They’ll be just as good after they have cooled some. Do not cover them or they will lose their crispiness. For a complete summer meal, serve with salad, grilled vegetables, a baked potato, and dessert.
MARK SOHN’S
BARBECUED CHICKEN
Recipe from
Hearty Country Cooking
Using chicken quarters, follow the same procedure as the Baby Back Ribs, above, reducing the slow-cooking time to 3 hours.
For my family, I fix 1 rack of ribs and about 2 pounds of chicken quarters.
MARK SOHN’S
FRIED GREEN TOMATOES
Hearty Country Cooking
Fried green tomatoes are prepared in three steps: slice the tomatoes, coat them with cornmeal, and fry. But if you have never seen fried green tomatoes, you’ll have many questions: What kind of shortening do you use? Do the tomatoes need to be peeled? Do you coat the tomatoes with a batter, flour, or cornmeal? Do you flavor the batter with sugar, black pepper, cayenne, or hot sauce? Be sure to select firm tomatoes that do not show any signs of ripening.
Steps: In a 10-inch cast-iron skillet over medium heat, melt the lard until it starts to smoke, or until it reaches 325 to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. If you are smoking up the kitchen, the lard is too hot. Reduce the heat.
1) Cut the tomatoes into 3/8-inch slices. If you want batter to stick to the edge of the slices, peel the tomatoes. (I skip that step.)
2) In a mixing bowl, combine self-rising cornmeal mix, salt, and pepper, and coat the tomato slices with the mixture. Fry about 2 minutes on each side, or until golden brown. The tomatoes will be cooked through, but not overly crusty on the outside.
3) Drain on a wire rack and serve. If you let the fried tomatoes sit, what was crisp will be soggy!
4) Healthy Choice Alternative: In this recipe, the light coating of cornmeal does not absorb a lot of lard. For a light oven-fried tomato, after dipping the tomatoes in the cornmeal, place them on a cooling rack over a cookie sheet, and bake 20 minutes at 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Broil to brown.
MARK SOHN’S
PEACH COBBLER
Hearty Country Cooking
FOR THE FILLING:
3 cups sliced fresh peaches
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
FOR THE CRUST:
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 cup heavy cream
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Arrange the sliced peaches in an 8 x 8 x 2-inch baking pan. 2) In a small mixing bowl, combine the 3/4 cup sugar, cornstarch, and cinnamon. Whisk until the lumps of cornstarch are gone. Pour over the fruit, and place the pan in the oven to warm.
3) Prepare the crust: In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, 2 tablespoons sugar, and baking powder. Stir in the cream. Pat the crust into a flat 8 x 8-inch shape, cut into quarters (for ease of moving it to the pan), and lay it over the peaches. With a knife, slash four steam vents. Return the pan to the oven, and bake for 45 minutes, or until the fruit mixture bubbles up through the center. Healthy Choice Alternative: Replace the heavy cream with skim milk, making the crust less tender. Then, without salt, eggs, or fat, this dessert should fit into a variety of diets. To cut calories, reduce the sugar in the filling to 1/2 cup. Serve warm from the oven, topped with ice cream, heavy cream, or whipped cream. Serve in bowls with a hard sauce or Buttermilk Glaze. Yield: 8 servings.
LURVADA’S BREAD PUDDING
This is a Plymouth Citrus Produce
Cooperation recipe
Recipe from
. Hilda Vincent compliments of
STEW-POT FAVORITES OF
ZELLWOOD
Woman’s Society of Christian
Service, Zellwood, Florida
1 cup raisins
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 loaf white bread and
1/2 loaf brown bread, broken
1-2/3 cup sugar
1-1/2 sticks melted oleo margarine
Vanilla
Nutmeg
Moisten bread with milk. Mix well together and bake in moderate oven until firm. Serve warm with milk or cream.
MRS. RUTH MCGOWAN’S
CHEESE BISCUITS
Recipe from
Stew Pot Favorites of Zellwood
1 pound cheese
1 pound oleo margarine
4 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
Cut oleo margarine into flour until crumbly or the size of a pea. Add salt and grated cheese. Divide dough and roll to 1/4-inch thick. Cut with small biscuit cutter. Bake on ungreased cookie sheet about 10 minutes at 425 degrees. These will keep in your freezer indefinitely.