Weekend Cooking: Southern Plate - Classic comfort food that makes everyone feel like family

Southern cooking is the definition of comfort food...fried chicken, macaroni and cheese, grits...yum!  Nobody knows this like Christy Jordan, who lives in Alabama with her family, and is a ninth generation Southerner.  In this cookbook, she shares with us the recipes and stories that have been handed down through her family and serves to honor their memories.

She breaks her cookbook down into seasons...Summer Days and Family Reunions, The Cooler Days of Fall, Christmas, Spring, and Family Favorites.  Just turning the pages makes your mouth water, with big beautiful pictures to feast your eyes upon!  Homemade banana pudding.  Blackberry cobbler.  Cornbread.  BANANA PECAN FRENCH TOAST?????  I think I just gained five pounds.

Which brings me to the only downfall of this treasure.  It ain't for the dieting folks (including me).  To enjoy most of the recipes, you must turn your back on calorie worries.  Still, for a holiday or special occasion, these concerns can be briefly ignored, right?

I turned my daughter loose in the book, and she tabbed everything she was interested in making.  In the interest of the junk in the trunk, we made two dishes.  Sour Cream Hash Brown Casserole and Lucy's Chocolate Pie (which we made for Easter).  Both were sinful and wonderful.

Sour Cream Hash Brown Casserole

Two pound package of frozen hash browns
16 ounce carton sour cream
10.75 ounce can cream of celery soup
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/3 cup margarine, melted
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup Ritz cracker crumbs

Combine all ingredients except cracker crumbs.  Spoon into greased 9 by 13 inch casserole dish.  Sprinkle cracker crumbs on top.  Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.


Lucy's Chocolate Pie
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 cup self-rising flour
2 egg yolks
2 cups milk
2 teaspoons butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
1 baked pie shell

Meringue:

3 egg whites

1/4 cup sugar

In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar, cocoa powder, and flour.  Mix well.  Beat in the egg yolks and add the milk.  Place over medium heat and cook until thickened, stirring constantly to prevent scorching.  Stir in the butter, vanilla, and salt.  Pour into the baked pie shell and top with meringue.

To make the meringue, whip the egg whites until foamy with an electric mixer on high speed.  Add the sugar.  Continue beating on high speed until soft peaks form.  Pour on top of the pie and spread to the edges to seal well.  Bake at 325 degrees for 15 minutes, or until the top is golden.  Allow to cool completely and refrigerate before serving if you like.

*******************
   

Weekend Cooking is hosted by Beth Fish Reads and is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, fabulous quotations, photographs. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend.