Deep South Dining

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The month of November starting on a Monday seems pretty charmed, as it setups the rest of the month to be all about the business of the holiday season. The countdown to Thanksgiving has begun and there are plenty of items to check off to ensure success. Also remember to give yourself plenty of grace during the holiday season and maybe a pumpkin spice latte, if that is your thing. Special guest host, Joe Sherman fills in for Malcolm White and (for a time) converts Carol Puckett into a partaker of pumpkin spice. Also during the show, we hear from one of the top Cooking and Coping posters, Tim Pierce about how he achieves such beautiful food photos. Let's eat y'all!

• 1 whole chicken  (Mom preferred a 5-7 pound hen)
• 1 12” iron skillet of cornbread (about 12 cups)
• 6 slices of stale bread, buns or biscuits (Mom kept leftover bread in the freezer just for dressing)
• 1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped, not sautéed
• 4 celery ribs, finely chopped,not sautéed (Mom didn’t use celery but I like it)
• Sage and Black Pepper (Mom did it to her taste. If Dad was home he added more   which she always said, ”Daddy you’re gonna ruin the dressing”).
• 6 +/- cups chicken broth, enough to make the dressing moist but not soupy
• Cooked chicken breast, wing, thigh and leg, (or your favorite pieces) ,rough chopped (no skin)

Chicken & Chicken Stock Directions

Place whole chicken and giblets in a heavy stockpot. Cover with water and add 2 tablespoons of salt. Bring to a boil, cover, and gently simmer at least 2 hours, preferably 4. Mom did not add aromatics or herbs. (After removing the meat from the bones she did add vegetables to the bones and skin to make broth for chicken soup or chicken and dumplings).

• 3 cups self-rising white cornmeal
• ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons bacon grease
• 1 cup full-fat buttermilk
• 1 cup whole milk
• 4 eggs  (Add more if you like. Mom put eggs in the cornbread, not raw eggs in the dressing)

Cornbread Directions

Preheat oven to 425°. Add bacon grease to a 12” black iron skillet and heat skillet in the oven while you’re mixing the batter. 

Thoroughly mix the remaining ingredients. Remove the skillet from the oven and add the hot bacon grease into the mixture leaving 2 tablespoons of grease in the skillet. Stir to combine quickly. Then pour the mixture into the hot skillet so you hear the sizzle. Return the skillet to the oven and bake 20 minutes until golden brown.

Mom used a large stainless steel mixing bowl, as do I. Crumble the cornbread into the bowl and add the bread torn into small pieces. Add in remaining ingredients until thoroughly combined. Mom used her hands and made sure there were no large pieces of bread. She was always afraid the finished product would be dry. Again, make sure it’s really moist but not soupy.

Pour into 9 x 13 dish (or bigger). This makes a lot of dressing and freezes well or shares well.  Bake on 350° for one hour or until golden browned. Do not overbake. You should be able to scoop it to serve; not cut it in squares.

*** The dressing is equally as good meatless.  

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On this edition of Deep South Dining Malcolm White's skillet buddy, carol Puckett is back from her international travels. With more than one story to tell, Carol shares the details of her trips and the international delights she was able to bring back to Mississippi. Also, the pair talk about several fig-related dishes and reflect on their love of a delicious condiment. Later in the show bring the scary talking about haunted restaurants in Mississippi. Let's eat yall!

Adapted by Julia Reed from "Jeremiah Tower's New American Classics"

Ingredients:

• 1 medium red onion, finely chopped ( 1/2 cup)
• 8 large fresh ripe Mission figs, finely chopped (or about 20 Celestes)
• 1 to 2 fresh Serrano chilies, stemmed, seeded and finely chopped
• ½ cup fresh mint leaves
• ¼ cup fresh lime juice
• 1 teaspoon salt (or more to taste)
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Preparation:

1. Soak the onion in ice water for 10 minutes, rinse and pat dry with paper towels. Combine the onion and figs and half the chilies in a bowl.
2. Blanch mint leaves in boiling water for 1 minute. Cool in ice water, drain, squeeze dry and finely chop. Add to the fig mixture. Add lime juice, salt and pepper. Stir well and taste. Add as much of the remaining chili as desired. Let sit for 1 hour so flavors can develop.

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In this edition of Deep South Dining, Malcolm and Carol have a few questions on their mind. Is pizza making as popular as the Wall Street Journal says it is? How do you get your hushpuppies soft and spongy? What are savory hand pies, actually empanadas? These are not all the questions tackled during this hour of delicious inquiries, they also speak with Cooking & Coping standout Bob Yarbrough and a host of very appreciative listeners. Let's eat ya'll!

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The 162nd Mississippi State Fair starts October 6th and to usher in this once-a-year buffet of food and fun we welcome the Department of Agriculture and Commerce Commissioner Andy Gibson. Commissioner Gibson talks with Malcolm about fair food and the famous biscuit booth. He even shares the recipe live on-air. Since the 70's the Mississippi State Fair biscuit booth has given away tasty biscuits to hundreds of thousands of fairgoers, many of who make it a family tradtion. Then we welcome Jessie Zenor from Greenhouse on Porter who's biscuit business has built a true family-like following.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• ¾ tsp salt
• ½ tsp black pepper
• 1 stick cold butter
• 1 cup full-fat buttermilk

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. In a large bowl, mix flour, baking powder, salt & pepper.
3. Chop cold stick of butter into half-inch cubes. Using your fingers, squish the butter into the flour mixture until the largest pieces are about the size of peas.
4. Stir in the buttermilk, mixing only until the dough comes together, careful to not overwork the biscuit dough.
5. Dump the dough onto a floured surface and roughly shape it into a square about an inch thick. Cut into 9 pieces.
6. Place biscuits on a parchment-lined pan and bake for about 10 minutes, or until golden brown.

Serve with any topping you can dream up!

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There are a few things that come to mind when people speak of southern charm and red velvet cake should definitely be one of them. At the top of this edition of Deep South Dining, Malcolm and Carol take a dive into the history of red velvet cake and even spend a few minutes tasting a chess pie that you can prepare at home. Just follow the recipe below. Also from just up the road in Tennessee, cookbook author and CEO of the Belle Meade Winery, Sheree Rose Kelley talks about her life in food and love of family recipes.

• 1 stick butter
• 1 Tablespoon flour
• 2 eggs
• ½ tsp each of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, allspice
• ¼ tsp salt
• 1 ½ cups pumpkin (cooked or canned)
• 3 Tablespoons bourbon or water
• 1 unbaked 9-inch pie shell

1. Heat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Cream the butter, sugar and flour. 
3. Beat in eggs. 
4. Stir in spices and salt. Mix well. 
5. Add pumpkin and bourbon. The mixture will have a “curdled” appearance. 
6. Pour into an unbaked pie shell.
7. Bake at 425° for 15 minutes, then 350° for 40 minutes. Cool and serve. (Freezes well.)

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Deep South Dining is the only show dedicated to food and southern culture that can start an episode talking about cheeseburgers, transition to fired pies, and end up in Australia with fried eggs. It may sound like a hard job but host Malcolm White and Carol Puckett pull it off every Monday morning. To connect more with Malcolm and Carol, join them online with the Cooking and Coping Facebook Group (Link).

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.