Metro Creative Graphics
Key Points
Baked Orecchiette with Bacon Breadcrumbs sounds wonderful. This is a pasta dish from thepioneerwoman.com. Ree Drummond says it will take a little over an hour and a half to prepare and bake, and it will make 6 to 8 servings.
We are back in the “R” months; we can have oysters again! In her book titled Gullah Geechee Home Cooking, Mrs. Emily Meggett says, “Frying Seafood can be a tricky thing. It’s a fast process, but the key is to add just enough oil, and make sure the oil is hot enough for the oysters to actually fry instead of just soaking up the cooking oil. If you have a deep-fry thermometer, clip it to the side of the skillet and heat the oil over medium heat until the thermometer registers 350 deg F. If you don’t have a thermometer, just drop one oyster in on its side and cook: It should be golden brown on that side within one minute.”
From Charleston Receipts, we have Mrs. Barkley’s Curried Rice. She likes to make her stock by boiling chicken necks. If you prefer to use plain canned chicken stock, we will forgive you! Judging from her directions regarding picking over the rice and not washing it, I assume this is a very old recipe from before we had the lovely ready-to-cook rice that we have today.
Roberta Kluhsmeier has shared her recipe for Quiche Lorraine with the cookbook titled Pot-Pourri of Zellwood. This was a work done by the Zellwood Community Center many years ago. We thank that generous organization for sharing their book with us.
Blackberry Cobbler from Orion Storm Rusch in The Spice of Veith is a great basic recipe that you could use with other fruits if you don’t have blackberries. It looks pretty yummy!
BAKED ORECCHIETTE WITH BACON BREADCRUMBS
Recipe from thepioneerwoman.com
INGREDIENTS:
For the Pasta and Sauce:
4 tablespoons salted butter, plus more for the baking dish
1-1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more to taste
1 pound orecchiette pasta
1 large onion, thinly sliced
4 garlic cloves, minced
10 ounces frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
1 teaspoon black pepper
2 ounces cream cheese
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 cups whole milk
2 cups Monterey Jack cheese, grated
For the Bacon Breadcrumbs:
4 slices bacon, chopped
2 tablespoons salted butter
1-1/2 cups Panko
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
DIRECTIONS:
1) For the pasta: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. 2) Butter a 9 x 13-inch or other 3-quart baking dish. 3) Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook according to the package directions, then drain and set aside. 4) Meanwhile, for the bacon breadcrumbs: Cook the bacon in a medium skillet over medium heat until crispy, about 5 minutes. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon to a medium bowl, leaving the fat in the pan. 5) Add the butter to the pan and let melt, then add the Panko and salt and stir to coat. 6) Cook, stirring, until the Panko is a light golden brown, about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat. 7) Add to the bowl with the bacon. Let cool slightly, then toss with the parmesan. Set aside. 8) Make the sauce: Melt 2 tablespoons butter in the empty pasta pot over medium-high heat. 9) Add the onion and cook, stirring, until softened and starting to brown, about 3 minutes. 10) Stir in the garlic and spinach and cook until the spinach has released any remaining liquid, about 5 minutes. Season with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. 11) Add the cream cheese and remaining 2 tablespoons butter to the pot and stir until melted. 12) Sprinkle in the flour and stir, then reduce the heat to medium and cook until the flour is golden brown, about 1 minute. 13) Add the milk, 1 cup at a time, stirring until slightly thickened between each addition, 2 to 3 minutes total. 14) Fold in the Monterey Jack until melted, about 2 minutes. 15) Season the sauce with the remaining 1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper, if needed, then add the pasta, stirring until coated. 16) Transfer to the prepared baking dish and sprinkle with the bacon breadcrumbs. 17) Bake until the breadcrumbs are crispy and the sauce is bubbling, 20 to 25 minutes.
EMILY MEGGETT’S FRIED OYSTERS
Recipe from Gullah Geechee Home Cooking
By Emily Meggett
INGREDIENTS:
2 large eggs, beaten
1 tablespoon grated onion
1/3 cup self-rising flour
1 pint shucked oysters
2 cups vegetable oil
1 lemon, quartered
Cocktail sauce for serving
DIRECTIONS:
1) In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs. 2) Add the onion and flour, creating a batter. Set aside. 3) Drain the shucked oysters and add them all at once to the batter. 4) Mix the oysters and batter together, coating the oysters in the batter. 5) Pour the oil into a large cast-iron skillet. 6) Heat the oil over high heat. There must be enough oil for the oysters to float (the oil should be sufficiently heated so the oysters don’t sit and soak up all the oil). Once you have enough hot oil in the pan, reduce the heat to medium. 7) In batches, spoon the oysters into the hot oil and cook for about 1 minute on each side, until golden brown. 8) Remove the fried oysters to a plate covered with a paper towel to drain. 9) Serve the oysters with the lemon quarters and cocktail sauce.
MRS. MATTHEW BARKLEY’S (HELEN LEBBY) CURRIED RICE
Recipe from Charleston Receipts,
America’s Oldest Junior League Cookbook in Print, a Cookbook
By The Junior League of Charleston, Inc.
INGREDIENTS:
2 cups rice
2 tablespoons curry powder
1 teaspoon salt
1-1/2 cups chicken stock
DIRECTIONS:
1) Pick rice, but do not wash. 2) Place all ingredients in rice steamer for 1-1/2 hours, stirring several times with 2-tined fork. 3) In place of chicken stock,canned consommé may be used. 4) To cook in double-boiler instead of rice steamer, use 2 cups of chicken stock; other ingredients are the same. Note: I prefer to use stock obtained from boiling 1 pound of chicken necks with seasonings such as celery, onion, and bay leaf. Bits of chicken may be cut from the chickennecks and added to the curried rice after it is done. Serves 8.
ROBERTA KLUHSMEIER’S QUICHE LORRAINE
Recipe from Pot-Pourri of Zellwood – Recipes & Reflections 1983
The Zellwood Community Center
INGREDIENTS:
1 9-inch pie shell, unbaked
1/2 pound sliced bacon
1-1/2 cups (6 ounces) grated Swiss cheese
1 small onion, chopped fine
3 eggs
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
Dash of cayenne pepper
DIRECTIONS:
1) Fry bacon until crisp. 2) Drain and crumble the bacon into pie shell. 3) Sprinkle grated cheese over the bacon. 4) Cook onion in bacon fat until golden. 5) Drain the onion, then distribute on top of the cheese. 6) Beat remaining ingredients together and pour into the pie shell. 7) Bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes or until firm.
ORION STORM RUSCH’S BLACKBERRY COBBLER
Recipe from The Spice of Veith
INGREDIENTS:
4 cups fresh blackberries
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 large egg
1 cup sugar
1 cup flour
6 tablespoons butter, melted
DIRECTIONS:
1) Preheat oven to 375 degrees. 2) Place blackberries in a lightly greased 8-inch square baking dish; sprinkle with lemon juice. 3) Stir together egg, sugar and flour in a medium bowl until mixture resembles a coarse meal. 4) Sprinkle over fruit. 5) Drizzle butter over topping. 6) Bake at 375 degrees for 35 minutes or until lightly browned and bubbly. 7) Let stand 10 minutes. 8) Serve with whipped cream, if desired. Garnish with a fresh mint sprig (optional). 9) This can also bake for the same amount of time in 6 (8-ounce) ramekins on an aluminum foil-lined baking sheet for individual servings. Serves 6.