Marvin Woods says, “Roasted Chicken is simple to make and is one of my favorite multipurpose recipes. For basics, I’ll pair it up, with or without a sauce, with vegetables and a starch. Then, I’ll let the leftovers cool, slice up the chicken, and make sandwiches with it. I’ll even dice the leftovers to make chicken salad.”

From Bob Warden’s Great Food Fast, subtitled Bob Warden’s Ultimate Pressure Cooker Recipes, we have Dirty Rice with Spicy Pork Sausage. Bob says, “While true Cajun Dirty Rice is made with chicken giblets and livers to get its brown color, I make mine with spicy pork sausage (to most people’s relief). But just because I don’t follow ALL the rules, doesn’t mean this doesn’t pack a ton of Cajun flavor!” He adds in a note, “To cut the fat: As this is great with pretty much any kind of sausage, ground turkey sausage can be used to cut the fat. You can even use sliced low-fat kielbasa or chicken sausages.”

            From Joyce LaFray Young’s book “Country Cookin’,” we are going to try a very simple dish, Fried Squash. This recipe comes from Hopkins Boarding House in Pensacola. You can use either yellow squash or zucchini. They describe it as, “A nice change for an old favorite!”

            We have a special treat for you: Emily Meggett’s Waffles from Gullah Geechee Home Cooking. She says, “Just like with pancakes, lots of people see waffles as one of the most important breakfast foods. It’s one I made in my house all the time. These waffles cook until they get a nice crisp on the edges, while the center of the waffle maintains a light fluffy texture and preserves a nutty crunch from the chopped pecans. Serve waffles with just a bit of butter and syrup.”

            Florida Orange Meringue Pie is a recipe that Byron McCoy shared with Pot-Pourri of Zellwood, the book that was later shared with us by Claire Ellington. You will notice and possibly wonder about the direction, “Add a little hot mixture to beaten egg yolks.” This is meant to “temper” the eggs; to gradually moderate the temperature so they don’t actually cook when exposed to a large amount of extremely hot mixture.

ROASTED CHICKEN

The New Low-Country Cooking

by Marvin Woods

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon paprika

1/2 teaspoon celery salt

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

One 3-pound fryer chicken

2 sprigs fresh thyme, or 3 tablespoons dried

2 sprigs fresh rosemary, or 3 tablespoons dried

2 cloves garlic

            1) Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. 2) Mix the salt, pepper, paprika, and celery salt together. Rub the oil all over the chicken, and then sprinkle the spice mixture over the chicken. Rub the mixture in a little. Take a sprig of rosemary, a sprig of thyme, and a clove of garlic, and insert them between the skin and the meat on one side of the breast. Repeat this procedure on the other side. 3) Place a rack in the bottom of a roasting pan. Set the chicken on its side on the rack, and place in the oven. Bake for 20 minutes. Then turn chicken to its other side and bake for 20 minutes more. Turn it breast side up, and roast another 10 minutes. Then check the breast meat with an instant-read thermometer. Once the breast reaches 155 degrees Fahrenheit, measure the thigh temperature, which must be a least 165 to 170 degrees Fahrenheit. When the chicken is done, remove it from the oven and let it sit for 15 to 20 minutes on a cutting board before carving. This resting period will make it easier to carve the chicken.

DIRTY RICE WITH SPICY PORK SAUSAGE

Recipe from Great Food Fast,

Bob Warden’s Ultimate Pressure Cooker Recipes

2 tablespoons olive oil

8 ounces spicy ground pork sausage

1 small yellow onion, diced

1 small green bell pepper, diced

3 stalks celery, diced

1 tablespoon minced garlic

2 cups long-grain white rice (uncooked)

1 teaspoon dry oregano

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon paprika

1/4 teaspoon pepper

2-1/4 cups chicken stock or broth

1) With the cooker’s lid off, heat oil on HIGH or “brown,” until sizzling. 2) Place the sausage, onion, bell pepper, and celery in the cooker, and sauté until sausage has browned, about 5-7 minutes. 3) Stir in garlic, rice, oregano, chili powder, paprika, and papper, and sauté 1 additional minute. 4) Add the chicken stock and securely lock the pressure cooker’s lid. Set for 4 minutes on HIGH. 5) Let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes before performing a quick release to release any remaining pressure. Depending on the salt content of the sausage and chicken stock, you may need to salt to taste before serving.

FRIED SQUASH

from Hopkins Boarding House in Pensacola

Country Cookin’ by Joyce L. Young

2 pounds yellow squash (may substitute zucchini)

Salt

Self-rising flour

Fat for deep fat frying

            1) Wash and slice squash into 1” pieces. 2) Sprinkle salt over squash so that all pieces are lightly salted. (The salt draws out the extra liquid.) 3) Let sit 1 hour. Pour off liquid. 4) Dip and completely cover each piece in self-rising flour. 5) Fry in deep fat at 350 degrees Fahrenheit until brown and crisp. Serves 6.

EMILY MEGGETT’S WAFFLES

Recipe from Gullah Geechee Home Cooking by Emily Meggett

1 large egg

1/3 cup sugar

2 cups self-rising flour

1-1/3 cups milk, whole or 2 percent, plus more if needed

1/2 cup Crisco shortening, melted

1/3 cup sour cream

1/3 cup pecans, chopped

            1) Plug in your waffle iron, allowing it to get hot. 2) In a medium mixing bowl, use a wooden spoon to beat together the egg and sugar. Add the flour and 1 cup of the milk and gently stir the mixture until combined. 3) Fold in the sour cream and pecans. Add the remaining 1/3 cup milk and stir gently. If the mixture is too thick, add more milk, 1 tablespoon at a time, until it becomes a batter. 4) Spoon three heaping spoonfuls of waffle batter into the hot waffle iron. Cook until the waffle iron light goes on, or until golden brown. The edges should be slightly crispy. Cook the remaining waffles, and serve immediately.

BYRON MCCOY’S FLORIDA ORANGE MERINGUE PIE

Recipe from Pot-Pourri of Zellwood

1 cup orange juice

1 cup orange sections, cut into pieces

2 tablespoons grated orange rind

1 cup sugar

5 tablespoons cornstarch

3 egg yolks, beaten

2 tablespoons lemon juice

2 tablespoons butter or margarine

Meringue from the egg whites

            Combine orange juice, sections, grated rind, sugar and cornstarch. Cook on low heat until clear. Add a little hot mixture to beaten egg yolks. Cook about 5 minutes longer. Remove from heat. Blend in lemon juice, butter or margarine. Pour into BAKED pie shell. (Be sure filling and shell are both hot or both cold.) Cover filling with meringue. Bake in 350-degree oven until lightly browned.