Kitchen Kapers with Nancy

“Shrimp Rice is a very simple dish to make,” says Mrs. Emily Meggett, in her book titled, Gullah Geechee Home Cooking, “but it packs the flavor. When you cut your bacon, the slices should be no bigger than a fingertip, and you want your onions chopped fine.” 

Apple and Pecan Acorn Squash from Southern Living’s 2009 edition of their “All Time Favorites” will be a delicious addition for your cooler weather meals. The biggest challenge is in halving the squash. Be very careful in cutting the acorn squash. We don’t want any quick trips to the ER to mar our dinner! 

Sally Benton’s Chicken or Turkey Gravy is practically a meal in itself. This gravy is thick and tasty with meat from your bird, and if you only had a piece of bread to put it over, you would feel happy and satisfied when you finished. Making this gravy is an adventure in the kitchen, not for the faint of heart. But it really IS delicious gravy and worth the effort. Everyone raves about it! 

According to Sarah Seeds of Orlando who contributed our “sweets” recipe this week, “There’s something about baking in the fall that feels like comfort. The air turns crisp (or, as crisp as it gets in Central Florida), and suddenly everything needs a hint of pumpkin and spice. If you’ve never roasted a pie pumpkin before, this recipe is the perfect excuse to start. It’s quick, easy, and makes a huge difference in flavor. Simply slice your pumpkin in half, scoop out the seeds, drizzle the insides with olive oil and a pinch of salt, and roast face-down on a baking sheet at 400°F for 30 minutes, flipping halfway through. Once cooled, scoop out the soft, caramelized flesh and puree it. You can always use canned pumpkin in a pinch, but for a comparable cost and 30 extra minutes, roasting your own will transform your autumn-inspired dishes. These Pumpkin and Pistachio Chocolate Chip Cookies are everything you want in a fall treat—soft, spiced, and a little extra special, thanks to that chocolate-pistachio finish.” 

EMILY MEGGETT’S SHRIMP RICE 
Recipe from Gullah Geechee Home Cooking by Emily Meggett 

2 pounds small shrimp 
6 slices bacon 
1 large onion, diced 
1/4 cup unsalted butter 
1 tablespoon seasoning salt, preferably Gold Medal 
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper 
3 cups long-grain white rice, rinsed 

1) Peel, devein, and wash the shrimp. Remove the tails. Set aside. 2) In a large skillet, cook the bacon for about 5 minutes, or until crisp, and chop it into small pieces. Add the onion and cook it with the bacon for 3 to 5 minutes, allowing the onion to become coated with bacon fat. 3) In a separate pan, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Add the shrimp and cook until pink, 2 to 3 minutes. 4) Remove the cooked shrimp from the butter and add it to the skillet with the bacon and onion. 5) Add 4-1/2 cups tepid water along with seasoning salt and crushed red pepper. 6) Bring the water to a boil, then add the uncooked rice. 7) Cook over low heat stirring frequently until the rice has absorbed almost all of the water, 15 to 20 minutes. Stir with a fork to ensure the rice is fluffy and done. 

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 to dish to depth of 1 inch. 2) Combine apple and next three ingredients. Spoon evenly into squash halves. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for one hour or until squash is tender. Sprinkle with pecans. Makes 4 servings. 

SALLY BENTON’S CHICKEN or TURKEY GRAVY 
From Sarah Benton, reader of The Apopka Chief newspaper 

Turkey necks (if cut and packaged frozen, thaw and wash cut ends to remove any bone pieces left by saw blades) 
2 boxes chicken broth (or beef broth or vegetable broth), all in cartons (reduced sodium) 
1 stalk of celery sliced thin 
Half a good size onion sliced thin 

A big part of what makes this gravy so delicious is the fact that you simmer it for about 4 hours, and it is done only when the turkey meat is coming off the neckbones. Using a strainer spoon, remove cooked neck sections, then pour the rest of the broth through a strainer. Pick through contents of strainer to remove any bone bits freed by cooking. Add the meat to the broth along with thinly sliced celery and onion. Then start cooking. Add a few shakes of poultry seasoning and some tarragon along with ground peppercorn and pink sea salt if needed. Thicken with cornstarch at the end. 

If you’re making gravy for turkey, use the turkey neck and the giblets that come with the bird. Pull them out the day before you want to cook your turkey. You might want to hold back on the liver since liver is such a strong flavor. If you just want giblet gravy to go with a chicken dinner, use a packet of hearts and gizzards… maybe a half pound to go with a 32-ounce box of chicken broth. You don’t have to use necks. You can use just chicken pieces like thighs or chicken backs and chicken wings for making something like gravy. You might consider using reduced sodium broth because when it cooks down, it can be quite salty. 

PUMPKIN AND PISTACHIO CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES 
Submitted by Sarah Seeds, Orlando 

Ingredients: 

1/2 cup butter, room temperature 
1/3 cup light brown sugar 
1/3 cup white sugar 
1 tablespoon maple syrup 
1 teaspoon vanilla extract 
1/2 cup pumpkin purée (fresh or canned) 
1 teaspoon salt 
1 teaspoon baking powder 
1-1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice 
1-1/2 cups flour 
1 bag dark chocolate chips, standard 12 oz size 
1/2 cup shelled pistachios, finely crushed (for coating bottoms) 

Assembly: 

1) Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a baking mat. 2)  In a large bowl, cream together butter, brown sugar, white sugar, maple syrup, and vanilla until light and fluffy. 3) Mix in pumpkin purée until well combined. 4) Add salt, baking powder, and pumpkin pie spice. Gradually fold in flour until just combined—do not overmix. 5) Stir in dark chocolate chips, reserving 1 cup for melting and coating bottoms. 6) Chill dough for a minimum of 30 and up to 60 minutes before baking. The longer you let it chill, the less spread you will have during baking. 7) Scoop onto prepared baking sheet and bake for 12–15 minutes, or until edges are set. 8) Let cookies cool on the baking sheet for one minute before transferring to a rack to cool completely. 9) Once cooled, melt additional chocolate chips and, using an offset spatula, smooth a thin layer of melted chocolate onto the bottom of each cookie. Dip into crushed pistachios and let set until the chocolate hardens. Makes 12-16 cookies, depending on size.