My grandmother's recipes would be all but lost if not for the memories of my mother. My grandmother didn't like anyone else around her in the kitchen. She called it being 'under' her feet. My mother saw enough to salvage what I am sharing on the blog with you, thank God!! I share them here and now so that I do not lose them permanently.
My grandmother had simple ingredients. She never put anything more than salt and pepper to season. She never deep fried meat. She never served anything with pasta or rice. Everything was slow and easy.
A typical meal would be fried chicken or fried thin round steak, meatloaf, or hamburger steak along with purple hull peas, fried or stewed squash, fried potatoes, fried okra (on occasion), butterbeans (if she didn't serve purple hull peas, but sometimes both), fried cornbread, homemade cream corn, fresh cut tomatoes, sweet onions, sliced cucumbers.
Ma's Fried Steak
Round steak sliced thin and beat with a hammer until almost see through
Salt and pepper
Flour to roll it in
Ask the butcher to slice thin. Salt to taste and let it sit for about 15 minutes or until the salt has melted. ROLL, DO NOT DREDGE in flour. Fry in corn oil one side at a time. Do not cover in oil. NEVER DEEP FRY unless it is catfish or Ma's Fried Potatoes. Fry the steak until brown on each side.
Ma's Meatloaf
1 pound Ground meat
Salt and pepper
chopped onions and bell pepper
Ketchup
1 egg
Formed it into loaf and put ketchup on top. Bake at 350 for at least 45 minutes to an hour.
Ma's Fried Chicken
Vegetable oil...enough to cover the chicken. On legs and thighs make slits with a knife on each side of the bone so oil can cook it.
Vegetables were fried potatoes, cream corn, purple hull peas, sliced tomatoes, cucumbers, sweet onion, green beans (fresh), fried squash, stewed squash, fried okra, butterbeans with okra.
Squash
Slice thin and barely cover in water. Add a half stick of butter. Add salt and pepper and let it simmer, covered on low.
Purple Hull Peas
Bag of peas, preferably fresh...cover in water with a teaspoon of salt. Cut one piece from a hunk of bacon. Add 3 Tablespoons of corn oil. Bring to a boil and cover and turn down to a simmer or a slight simmering boil for 45 minutes or until water is low.
Ma's Fried Potatoes
Slice the potatoes as you would for French fries. In a large mixing bowl salt and allow the salt to melt on the potatoes at room temperature about 15- 20 minutes. Put in hot corn oil frying pan (This is the only food you will cover in oil, but you do want it covered in the oil) and fry until golden. She would never let them get real crisp. Plate them with a paper towel beneath to catch excess oil. You may add additional salt if desired. Serve.
Ma's Fried Cornbread
2 cups white cornmeal
2 cups boiling water
1 teaspoon salt
Corn oil for frying
Mix the cornmeal and salt together in a small mixing bowl. Add boiling water and stir. Spoon 1 teaspoon of cornmeal mixture onto your fingers. BE CAREFUL...VERY HOT!! I always rinse my hands in cold water before I do this. Pat out with fingers until the cornmeal is flat. Drop carefully into hot oil. Fry until they are golden brown. Transfer to a paper towel lined plate. Serve.
Ma's Chicken and Dumplings
Mary B's Frozen Dumplings
1 fryer, cut up
1 can of cream of chicken soup
2-3 heaping Tablespoons of flour
1/2 cup of chicken broth
1 stick butter
Salt and pepper to taste
Boil the chicken until done (about 30 minutes). Debone and set it aside. Reserve a half cup of the liquid you boiled the chicken in. This will be used to make a 'gravy' later. Add a stick of butter and stir until melted. Drop dumplings into boiling water (the water you cooked the chicken in). Cook according to the package directions. Mix 2-3 heaping Tablespoons of flour into the chicken broth you took from the pot. Whisk until smooth. Add the mixture to the dumplings and incorporate well. Turn the heat to medium and stir constantly until the mixture thickens. Add the Cream of Chicken soup. Stir until thoroughly blended. Turn back down to low and add the chicken. Salt and pepper to taste. I serve mine with baked or fried hot water cornbread. Enjoy!
