Culinary Arts, Part IV - Civil Rights Era

Hello everybody. Welcome to Part IV and my final post from the Culinary Arts Luncheon I attended last fall. Parts I, II, and III focused on the Muskogean Era, the Colonial Era, and the Civil War Era.

Today's post moves us into the 20th Century and the Civil Rights Era. The Civil Rights Era from the 1960s, some fifty years ago, but the foods chosen to highlight that era at the luncheon are still foods that Southerners enjoy today.

I'll admit that I didn't sample much of these dishes as we had SO much food to taste, choosing to focus on those dishes I'd never heard of.

The Menu for the Civil Rights Era. Deep Fried Okra, Fresh Tomato Pickles, Catfish Po-Boy, Fried Chicken, and Banana Pudding

Culinary Arts Students Serving Their Guests. And there was Ham, too! :)

Banana Pudding! This a favorite dessert on Mississippi dinner tables even today. This one was very good, but I'll be honest, my mother-in-law makes the best Banana Pudding I've ever tasted. It is aMAZing. And, yes, we use Vanilla Wafers. I read somewhere that different parts of the country don't eat banana pudding and certainly don't make it with vanilla wafers.

What????

Next to anything chocolate, banana pudding is one of my most favorite desserts with LOTS of vanilla wafers.

More of the students dressed in period garb from the 18th, 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries

Everyone Sampling the Food

Who Wouldn't Love This? Homemade Southern-style Banana Pudding
I'm getting hungry!!

And Sweet Tea, y'all!

Most of these dishes can be found on many menus in the south and any potluck or church social wouldn't be complete without fried chicken, fried okra, butter beans, cornbread, field peas, and the aforementioned banana pudding.

But, just as all banana puddings aren't the same, neither are all fried chicken, okra, or even cornbread. I won't pretend to be a great cook, but I know some great cooks.

My mother, my mother-in-law, all the grandmothers had their specialties. I've already mentioned my mother-in-law's banana pudding. My mother makes an amazing chocolate pie with "calf slobber" on top. What's that, you say? That's egg-white meringue beat to peaks, then very lightly browned. Sorry, didn't mean to gross anybody out! lol

My husband's grandmother passed away this past year and she was an amazing cook. But I especially loved her cornbread. She'd preheat the oven, then heat an iron skillet on the stovetop with an unhealthy dollop of lard, mix up a batch of cornbread, then drop the cornbread mixture by spoonfuls into the hot grease. Once it was all in the skillet, she'd put it in the oven to finish baking. Best cornbread ever!

But here's something on the Civil Rights Era menu that I wasn't familiar with. Tomato Pickles. There are as many recipes for tomato pickles as there are varieties of pickles. The simplest is just tomatoes, apple cider vinegar, and spices.

So, there you go. A list of Southern foods that were served with abandon 50 years ago, but are still solid savory fare found on tables today.

CBA Bestselling author PAM HILLMAN was born and raised on a dairy farm in Mississippi and spent her teenage years perched on the seat of a tractor raking hay. In those days, her daddy couldn't afford two cab tractors with air conditioning and a radio, so Pam drove an Allis Chalmers 110. Even when her daddy asked her if she wanted to bale hay, she told him she didn't mind raking. Raking hay doesn't take much thought so Pam spent her time working on her tan and making up stories in her head. Now, that's the kind of life every girl should dream of. www.pamhillman.com

Culinary Arts, Part III - Civil War Era

Howdy, heroes & heroines! Today, we're going to talk about some foods that were popular in the Civil War Era in the South. If you missed Part I & Part II, click to read about the Muskogean Era and the Colonial Era. Drop in on HHH January 16th for Part IV: the Civil Rights Era.

But, if you missed Part I & Part II, you might be wondering why I'm blogging about a sampling of food from each of these eras. Well, back in September, I attended a Culinary Arts luncheon at East Central Community College, my alma mater. The history and the food were both palatable in a fun way, and I couldn't resist sharing the whole experience with you.

The Civil War Era Menu with a Sugar Cone

Notice the Sugarloaf or Sugar Cone? Before refined sugar, sugar was formed into conical "loaves" and nippers were used to snip off small sections. This cone is very small compared to some of the large 20-30 lb loaves that would have been produced. The sugar cone was firm and solid, but scraping a spoon down the sides produced sugar granules to sweeten tea or a biscuit.

Clockwise from Back Left: Orange Gingerbread, Sugar Cone, Butter, Hardtack Biscuits

Also, if you've been following each of my culinary arts posts, you'll notice that the serving dishes have changed once again. Instead of wooden charges, reed baskets, and cast iron, silver has become the preferred serving platters at elegant dinner parties during the Civil War Era. 

Orange Gingerbread: The Orange Gingerbread we had wasn't as crunchy as a cookie, but not as fluffy as a biscuit either. It was somewhere in between. They weren't extremely sweet either. Again, a bit of a cross between a biscuit and a cookie. I'm sure they would have been even more tasty with a pat of butter and a liberal sprinkling from the sugar cone.

The Hardtack biscuits were just that. Hardtack. Sea Biscuit. Sea Bread. Actually, Chef Karrh, the culinary arts teacher, reminded us that we really weren't supposed to eat the hardtack dry, but they were to be dipped in coffee, soup, or brine until they softened. The basic hardtack recipe consists of flour and water, and maybe salt. They're baked at least twice, and sometimes up to four times. The hard, dry biscuit can be stored safely for months (even years) to provide nourishment for long voyages at sea and for soldiers in the field.

Red Velvet Cake, Hardtack, Orange Gingerbread

Sugar Cone with Spoon for Scraping

The Culinary Arts Students Serving Guests

Sweet Tea - The Drink of Choice! :)

Red Velvet Cake

And, finally, this yummy Red Velvet Cake was delicious. Even though red velvet cake is still popular in this day and age, I doubt any of us have ever had red velvet cake like they did back in the Civil War Era.

Not even the cake above was made according to the original recipe, which I couldn't actually find. But, word from the trenches is that key ingredient were RED CABBAGE and SHERRY VINEGAR.

I'm no scientist, and it took me a while to find a simple explanation for this phenomenon, but when cooked, red cabbage will turn blue. But in order to retain the red color of the cabbage juice extract, just can add vinegar or acidic fruit to the pot. My notes from the luncheon are sketchy, but by combining red cabbage and sherry vinegar, one could make a rich red color that was used to make red food coloring.

After researching several sites, this one is the easiest to understand in relation to producing red food coloring from red cabbage and vinegar (or, in the case of the original recipe, sherry vinegar).

The rest of the recipe consists of the standard flour, sugar, eggs, flavoring, and a white icing. These days, I'd probably go with a cake mix and a cream cheese icing. I'm getting hungry just thinking about it!

So, there you go. Have you ever heard of making red food coloring from red cabbage? Or from beets or another edible food source?

Isn't it amazing the lengths our ancestors went to to make the yummy delicacies we take for granted these days?

Culinary Arts, Part II - Colonial Era

It's hard to believe an entire month has passed, and it's time to share Part II of my Culinary Arts post. A quick recap...

In September, I attended a luncheon at my alma mater, East Central Community College (ECCC). The event was hosted by the Culinary Arts program and was part of the students' mid-term exam.

The event was divided into four eras, the Muskogean Era, which I blogged about last month, (Click HERE to read last month's post), the Colonial Era (today's post), and in coming months I'll share photos and recipes from the Civil War and the Civil Rights Eras.

So, let's get started!

The Colonial Period Menu

Colonial Era Food in a Pleasing DisplayLeft: Peanut Soup with a bowl of peanuts in front, Cover Pottery (sorry!) I'm pretty sure that was the Apple Tansey, Center back: Ranch House Stew & Three Day Buns (basket in rear), Right front: Chicken & dumplings, Far right: Black eyed peas. If you read last month's blog, you'll notice a huge difference in the cookery. Right? According to Scholastic.com, the Colonial Period is the period between1607-1776, so cast iron pots, kettles, and skillets were becoming more common and affordable during this time, so the wooden trenchers and cornhusk wraps that were the norm in the Muskogean Era have given way to cast iron.

Students and Guests Lining up for the Feast of the Eras!

Students in Period Garb Serving Their Guests

The Colonial Period Menu with a serving of each dish.

9 o'clock: Apple Tansey; 12 o'clock: Peanut Soup; 3 o'clock: Ranch House Stew; 6 o'clock: Three Day Sourdough Buns

Oh, and Sweet Tea all around, regardless of the era.

Now, let's talk about each of these dishes in turn. The chicken and dumplings were a bit bland but the texture was perfect. Some of us are used to over seasoning in this day and age, so dinner guests would have cleaned their plates. Beans were spicy. I skipped the black eyed peas as I couldn't sample everything, and those are still staples down in Mississippi to this day. I wanted to try the more exotic foods I'd never heard of.

Which leads us to the Peanut Soup and Apple Tansey.

Peanut Soup

I was leery of the Peanut Soup. I just couldn't imagine what that could taste like. However, it was surprisingly good for the small serving that I took. But I'm not sure I would want to eat a huge bowl of it.

When I make soup or stew, my family eats it as a meal. Maybe in the Colonial Era, they ate Peanut Soup as a meal, or possibly they ate it more as an appetizer in small amounts. Also, you'll notice that it was thick... not peanut-butter thick, but mashed potatoes thick. It tasted slightly sweet and peanutty, but not overly so. In the words of Goldilocks, it was "just right". 

Here's Colonial Williamsburg's Cream of Peanut Soup recipe. While it might not be exactly what Mr. Karrh's class served, I daresay it's quite close. And... if you decide to make Cream of Peanut Soup, go to the Colonial Williamsburg site and download your own recipe card.

Image/s Courtesy of The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
www.colonialwilliamsburg.com or www.history.org All rights reserved.

Instructions:

In a large saucepan or soup pot over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the onion and celery and cook, stirring often, until softened, three-five minutes.

Stir in flour and cook two minutes longer.

Pour in the chicken stock, increase the heat to high, and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Reduce the heat to medium and cook, stirring often, until slightly reduced and thickened, about 15 minutes. Pour into a sieve set over a large bowl and strain, pushing hard on the solids to extract as much flavor as possible. Return the liquid to the sauce pan or pot.

Whisk the peanut butter and the cream into the liquid. Warm over low heat, whisking often, for about five minutes. Do not boil.

Serve warm, garnished with the chopped peanuts.

Apple Tansey

Apple Tansey as prepared by the ECCC Culinary Arts Students

The Apple Tansey was a nice light dessert, sort of like apple dumplings but not as rich, and in our case, was served cold, not hot. The recipe found at Colonial Williamsburg sounds thicker with more of a pancake texture than the dumpling like deep-dish Apple Tansey the culinary arts students served. Either way, it's a nice sweet compliment to end a meal of Peanut Soup and Ranch House Stew.

To make Apple Tansey, take three pippins, slice them round in thin slices, and fry them with butter; then beat four eggs, with six spoonfuls of cream, a little rosewater, nutmeg, and sugar; stir them together, and pour it over the apples; let it fry a little, and turn it with a pye-plate. Garnish with lemon and sugar strew'd over it. The Compleat Housewife' book, published London in 1754

Rosser 1954 Roger Griffith, Public Domain (Wikipedia)

I was curious where the name Apple Tansey originated from and did more research. Tansy is a perennial, herbaceous flowering plant of the aster family, native to temperate Europe and Asia. It has been introduced to other parts of the world including North America, and in some areas has become invasive. It is also known as common tansy, bitter buttons, cow bitter, or golden buttons. The leaves or stalks of the Tansy plant are used as an ingredient when they are young, tender and not fully matured. They are chopped into small bits to be prepared for salads, savory meat fillings and stuffings, egg dishes, custards, and cakes.

While none of the recipes I found contained tansy, based on this description of the herb, it's very likely early versions of the dish did contain tansy, hence the name of the dish.

Click here a printable recipe card for Apple Tansey from Colonial Williamsburg. The Colonial period as well as the Muskogean Era were interesting to me since my Natchez Trace Novel Series is set in the 1790s. My characters are of European, African, Natchezian, and Choctaw descent, so Banaha, Fry Bread, Peanut Soup, and Apple Tansey as well as wooden chargers and the coveted cast iron pots and kettles would be part of their daily lives.

Have you ever heard of Apple Tansey or Peanut Soup? Ever tasted either?

Click here to grab a copy of
The Promise of Breeze Hill at this special price!

The Promise of Breeze Hill is set in 1791 Natchez Territory. With a wide range of characters with ties to the Spanish, French, British, Choctaw, African, and Irish, the food served would have been a bit more varied than what was available during the Muskogean era. The serving pieces would be more in line with the Colonial era, with cast iron being coveted cookware, but there would still be some overlap from the Muskogean era on the table, especially when the cook was of Choctaw, Chickasaw, or Natchez descent.

CBA Bestselling author PAM HILLMAN was born and raised on a dairy farm in Mississippi and spent her teenage years perched on the seat of a tractor raking hay. In those days, her daddy couldn't afford two cab tractors with air conditioning and a radio, so Pam drove an Allis Chalmers 110. Even when her daddy asked her if she wanted to bale hay, she told him she didn't mind raking. Raking hay doesn't take much thought so Pam spent her time working on her tan and making up stories in her head. Now, that's the kind of life every girl should dream of. www.pamhillman.com

Join Pam next month on the 16th for a look into the Culinary Arts of the Civil War Era in the South.

Culinary Arts, Part I - Muskogean Era

Recently, I attended a luncheon at East Central Community College (ECCC). The event was hosted by the Culinary Arts program and was part of the students' mid-term exam.

The students and their teacher, Mr. Karrh, prepared Southern cuisine from four different periods from our history: Muskogean, Colonial, Civil War, and Civil Rights, as well as shared people, events, and historical tidbits from each era.

Since there was so much to soak in, I'm going to divide this into four parts, posting about each era during the next four months.

I especially enjoyed the Muskogean and Colonial eras as that's when my current series, is set, in the 1790s.

Mr. Karrh and some of his students dressed in period garb.

Mr. Karrh wore a Scottish kilt underneath the long jacket. I didn't think to get a photo of his kilt, but he is of Scottish descent. 

A Student in Period Garb

 

Food from the Muskogean Era. Notice the wooden serving chargers. The Muskogean Era is loosely defined as the pre-18th century before cast iron pots and kettles were introduced to the Muskogean tribes by the Europeans.

The Menu for the Muskogean Era

Students in Period Garb Serving the Meal

Students and Guests Enjoying the Repast

Banaha at 9 o'clock, Corn on the Cob at 1 o'clock, Hominy at 5 o'clock

Banaha, hominy, corn on the cob, fry bread, and molasses cookies were staples for the Muskogeans prior to the arrival of the Europeans in the Southeast. Fry bread is still cooked and eaten today in many homes of the Choctaw nation.

Banaha

Ingredients
6 cups corn meal
2 teaspoons baking soda
boiling water
corn shucks

Directions
Pour enough boiling water over the meal and soda mixture to make a soft dough which can be handled with the hands.

Prepare 4 to 6 handfuls of corn shucks by pouring boiling water over them to cover, then strip a few shucks to make strings. Tie 2 strips together at ends.

Lay an oval shaped ball of dough on shucks. Fold carefully and tie in the middle with strings. Place in large stew pot and boil 30 to 45 minutes.

Pam's review of Banaha: I've never eaten Banaha, and it wasn't exactly my favorite dish on the menu. It was a bit grainy and bland as corn meal is apt to be. I didn't receive a list of the recipes from the event, so found the basic recipe online. Other ingredients can be added to change the texture of Banaha. In some ways, Banaha could be compared to an earlier, simpler version of "dressing" or "stuffing". Just add some boiled eggs and chicken broth. :)

Hominy

I've had hominy maybe once in my life and wasn't fond of it, but the ECCC Culinary Arts students made me a fan by adding chicken to the dish. I didn't find a recipe that resembled the simple dish offered at the luncheon, but it was perfectly seasoned, possibly with just salt and pepper. But it was so good that one couldn't go wrong with a bit of butter. Of course, most of us would buy canned hominy if making this dish, but the Muskogean cook would have had to soak and cook field corn in a lye solution. Then she would boil the corn for several hours to loosen the hulls from the kernels, and soften the corn. For more detailed instructions on cooking hominy, go here.

Unfortunately, I didn't get to sample the fry bread, but since I live between two Choctaw reservations, fry bread would be fairly easy to get a taste of around here.


Molasses Cookies

Now we get to the sweet part. Molasses cookies. What I remember about molasses cookies comes from an elderly lady name Mrs. Arletta who made what we called teacakes (not to be confused with the English teacake), but Mrs. Arletta's teacakes were similar to molasses cookies. From as young as six-seven years old, I can remember sneaking into her kitchen and reaching in her cookie crock to get one of her teacakes. I never, ever found it empty.

There are tons of recipes on the internet for molasses cookies, so take your pick.

However, I have a feeling that the 17th-18th century recipe was way simpler than the "Old-fashioned" recipes dotting the internet, and I simply can't imagine any of them tasting as amazing as Mrs. Arletta's did to a little barefoot girl on a sunny, summer day way down in Mississippi.

The Promise of Breeze Hill is set in 1791 Natchez Territory. With a wide range of characters with ties to the Spanish, French, British, Choctaw, African, and Irish, the food served would have been a bit more varied than what was available during the Muskogean era, and the serving pieces would be more in line with the Colonial era, but there would still be some offerings on the table, especially when the cook was part Choctaw, Chickasaw, or Natchez.

Join us next month on the 16th for a look into the Culinary Arts of the Colonial Era in the South.

CBA Bestselling author PAM HILLMAN was born and raised on a dairy farm in Mississippi and spent her teenage years perched on the seat of a tractor raking hay. In those days, her daddy couldn't afford two cab tractors with air conditioning and a radio, so Pam drove an Allis Chalmers 110. Even when her daddy asked her if she wanted to bale hay, she told him she didn't mind raking. Raking hay doesn't take much thought so Pam spent her time working on her tan and making up stories in her head. Now, that's the kind of life every girl should dream of. www.pamhillman.com

What In The World is "Chess Pie?"

By Golden Keyes Parsons

In the opening scene of my Civil War novel, my heroine, a Southern gal, meets a Union officer at a church picnic when she serves him chess pie. In the final scene when he comes back to the South to claim her and marry her, chess pie is awaiting him on the porch. What I didn't realize in writing those scenes is that many of my readers from north of the Mason Dixon Line had no idea what chess pie is. I received several emails from readers asking me, "What in the world is chess pie?" So here's an explanation:

Chess pie is a traditional southern dessert from back as far as Colonial days. Southern women on the farm most of the time had to concoct a dessert from what they could find around the house. It is a simple dish consisting mainly of sugar, eggs and cream which still finds its way on Southern tables today, especially on holidays. Extra flavoring such as lemon juice, or cocoa, or coconut, can be added according to one's tastes. Chess pie, in the form of buttermilk pie, is always one of the dessert selections at the Parsons household.

Several explanations surface upon research about the name. Some say it was originally "chest pie," because it kept well in a chest, not needing refrigeration. (I always refrigerate mine.) Some say it was similar to cheese pie (or cheesecake) in the 1800's and the name gotten shortened to chess pie. Some claim it is simply the Southern drawl of a charming Southern belle declaring, "Well, I do declare, it's jes pie." (Just pie.) However the name came about, I can tell you it is absolutely yummy ... and easy on top of that.

Here's the recipe I've used for over 40 years which I got out of Southern Living Magazine. This recipe makes two 9" pies

Buttermilk Pie

2 unbaked 9" pie shells

Mix until light:

6 eggs

3 cups sugar (I usually cut this down to about 2 1/2 cups.)

2 sticks real butter, softened

Add: 2 Tbs vanilla and 1 cup buttermilk

Pour into the pie shells. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Reduce oven to 325 degrees and bake for 30 minutes or until firm in the middle. To test dip the blade of a dinner knife into the middle and when it comes out clean, it's done. Let cool before cutting.

One tip -- don't tell people it's buttermilk pie, until they taste it. Most will turn up their noses at hearing "buttermilk." Tell them it's Chess Pie. You won't be lying. It truly is, and they will already be hooked by the time they learn it's Buttermilk Chess Pie. Hope you'll try it. Enjoy!

Golden Keyes Parsons is a popular conference and retreat speaker, as well as an historical fiction author. Her first three novels, In The Shadow Of The Sun King, Prisoner of Versailles, Where Hearts Are Free, were based on her French ancestors who fled religious persecution in 17th century France. Her fourth novel, His Steadfast Love, is a Civil War novel set in Texas. Her fifth novel is a compilation of four biblical fiction novels, Hidden Faces: Portraits of Nameless Women in Scripture. Her first non-fiction, Spiritual Spring Cleaning will be released in May of this year.