From our friends in Plains, Georgia, in Plains Pot-Pourri, we have a recipe from Peggy Lawson for Paper Bag Chicken. It’s just as it is billed: chicken that you roast inside a paper bag! And, while Peggy doesn’t do this, if I skin the chicken and cook it this way, I’ll lubricate it with EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)! If you use dairy, you could coat it with a little butter. And when I’m done, I’ll expose the chicken to the heated oven just to brown it up a little bit… if it needs it.

So that I don’t have to heat up my big oven, I use my countertop oven to roast a few potatoes, usually right along with roasting a chicken or maybe a pork roast. I love that little oven! Roasting a few potatoes is not rocket science! I don’t go out and buy the more expensive roasting potatoes, either; I just use the white potatoes I have on hand. Then, after scrubbing them, I grease them with EVOO and sprinkle a little Montreal Seasoning on them. Potatoes will go great with the recipe above for the “paper bag chicken.”

Miz Emily Meggett’s Collard Greens is a winner. She says, “Collard greens have a special place in African American culture.” I have some news for this fine lady: they have a special place in my own culture, as well! They take only a couple hours to cook, and I cool and store them in containers; then I freeze them and use them routinely (almost every day!) for supper! I season a big pot of fresh greens with a half-pound of cooked, crispy, brown bacon cut into small pieces (sometimes smoked ham), onion, garlic, salt, and a teeny bit of cayenne pepper. I put in probably a quarter cup of real maple syrup while they are cooking, and add a tablespoon of unfiltered apple cider vinegar near the end of cooking.

Southern Living’s Basic Cornbread is very simple and quick. You use buttermilk self-rising white cornmeal mix. Be very careful when working with the hot cast iron skillet. Remember, if you’re desperate for cornbread and don’t have buttermilk on hand, you can make a substitute with a cup of milk to which you add one tablespoon of either lemon juice or vinegar.

Ree Drummond, The Pioneer Woman, contributed this pie recipe, and she describes S’mores Pie like this: “It’s rich, melty, and loaded with marshmallows! Whichever way you say it, you’re going to love this pie! It’s everything wonderful about campfire S’mores that you’d ever want: gooey chocolate, toasty marshmallows, and buttery graham crackers, all baked up in one dreamy dessert… in pie form.”

Mrs. Lorene James has a recipe for Crystallized Tomato Pickles in Stew-Pot Favorites of Zellwood. But, pease don’t ask me where to get the “5-cent box of ginger.”

PAPER BAG CHICKEN
Recipe from Plains Pot-Pourri, Food Favorites of Plains, Georgia

INGREDIENTS:
1 whole chicken, skinned
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon garlic salt
1 tablespoon pepper
1 tablespoon paprika

DIRECTIONS:
Sprinkle clean chicken, inside and out, with seasonings. Put chicken into large bag. Roll end up tightly. Place in baking pan inside preheated oven and bake for 1-1/2 hours at 350 degrees Fahrenheit or until done.

EASY BAKED POTATOES
Recipe contributed by Nancy Thomas

INGREDIENTS:
White potatoes
EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)
Montreal seasoning

DIRECTIONS:
1) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (or however hot you are roasting your meat). 2) Lubricate the scrubbed potatoes with olive oil. 3) Sprinkle some Montreal seasoning over them. 4) Arrange the potatoes in your oven beside your chicken or meat if they will fit, or on a rack of their own if they won’t. I find the potatoes are usually done when the meat is done. I simply stick the thermometer into the potatoes just as I do with the meat, and they usually show 200 degrees Fahrenheit when they’re done.

EMILY MEGGETT’S COLLARD GREENS
Recipe from Gullah Geechee Home Cooking by Emily Meggett

INGREDIENTS:
1 bunch collard greens (1/2 pound)
1 (14-ounce) smoked ham hock
2-1/2 to 3 quarts water
Crushed red pepper
1-1/2 tablespoon cider vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar, or 2 packages sweetener
Nature’s Seasons, to taste

DIRECTIONS:
1) Wash the collard greens in cold water three or four times to remove any sand or dirt. Pat dry using a paper towel. 2) Strip the collard greens, removing the center stem. Cut the collard greens lengthwise into small, bite-sized pieces. 3) Wash the ham hock. In a large pot, combine the ham hock and water, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium, then add the greens, covering them in the water. 4) Add crushed red pepper to taste, the vinegar, sugar, and Nature’s Seasons to taste. Increase the heat and bring back to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and cook the greens for at least 2-1/2 hours. After 2-1/2 hours, taste the greens to test flavor and tenderness. Add more Nature’s Seasons and cook longer if necessary.

BASIC CORNBREAD
Southern Living’s All Time Favorites, 2009

INGREDIENTS:
2 cups buttermilk self-rising white cornmeal mix
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 large egg, lightly beaten
2 cups buttermilk

DIRECTIONS:
1) Heat a well-greased ovenproof skillet at 450 degrees for 5 minutes. 2) Stir together all ingredients in a bowl. Pour batter into hot skillet. 3) Bake at 450 degrees for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Makes one 9-inch cornbread, about 5 cups crumbled. Makes 6 servings.

S’MORES PIE
Contributed by Ree Drummond, The Pioneer Woman

INGREDIENTS:

CRUST:
2 cups graham cracker crumbs
8 tablespoons salted butter, melted
2 tablespoons sugar

FILLING:
1-1/2 cups sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
3 cups whole milk
4 egg yolks, beaten
6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
2 tablespoons salted butter
2 tablespoons vanilla bean paste or extract

TOPPING:
24 marshmallows
Semi-sweet chocolate bar, for shaving

DIRECTIONS:
1) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. 2) For the crust: In a large bowl, mix the graham cracker crumbs, butter, and sugar until well combined. 3) Firmly press the mixture into an ungreased 9-inch deep-dish pie plate. 4) Bake for five minutes to set the crust. 5) Remove, and let cool while you prepare the filling. 6) For the filling: In a medium saucepan, stir together the sugar, cornstarch, and salt. 7) Add the milk and the beaten egg yolks. 8) Cook while stirring over medium-high heat until the mixture comes to a boil and thickens. 9) Remove the pan from the heat, and add the chopped chocolate, butter, and vanilla, stirring until the chocolate has melted and is fully incorporated. 10) Pour the mixture into the pie crust, and smooth the top. 11) Refrigerate until completely set, about four hours. 12) When ready to serve, arrange the marshmallows on the pie, and use a kitchen torch to toast the marshmallows. Alternatively, place the pie under the broiler until the marshmallows are toasted, 60 to 75 seconds. 13) Using a vegetable peeler, shave some of the chocolate bar over the pie. 14) Slice and serve.

CRYSTALLIZED TOMATO PICKLES
Recipe from Stew-Pot Favorites of Zellwood

INGREDIENTS:
7 pounds green tomatoes
3 cups slack lime

DIRECTIONS:
1) Soak sliced tomatoes in two gallons of water with 3 cups slack lime for 24 hours. 2) Rinse them good. Soak in 2 gallons of water with 4 ounces alum for 24 hours. 3) Rinse. 4) Soak in 2 gallons of water with 5-cent box of ginger for 6 hours, then soak for 3 hours in 2 quarts of vinegar with 5 pounds sugar. 5) Add cinnamon and cloves or spice and boil one hour. It may take more vinegar.