I fell in love with Southern cooking the summer I worked at Camp Green Cove in western North Carolina, where the biscuits and grits were homemade, the tea was sweet, and the livin' was easy. Ahh. When I find myself missing rope swings, my Green Cove girls, and boys with drawls who actually hold the door for you, a meal like this is the next best thing to a plane ticket to Charlotte:
What I did:
I totally cheated with the black-eyed peas. They're from a can.
For the collards, I softened half of a thinly sliced onion in butter, then added some diced leftover Easter ham and two chopped-up slices of turkey bacon. Then I added two bunches of collards (washed, de-ribbed, and sliced into thin ribbons) and a little water, sugar, liquid smoke, apple cider vinegar, ketchup, and Tabasco. I simmered them for a good 30 minutes or so with the cover on, stirring and adding more liquid as needed. If you like yours really really soft and cooked down, let them go for longer.
Finally, I tried this mac and cheese recipe from Deep South Dish and was very pleased with the results -- extreme creamy goodness. I used cavatappi instead of elbows because their twisty tubes hold obscene amounts of nommy cheesiness. Droool. Also, I didn't bother with baking it but finished everything on the stovetop instead.
The pièce de résistance, though? A tall glass of "swayt tay". I used Deep South Dish's method for this too, steeping 6 tea bags for about 8 minutes. 1/4 cup each of sugar and Splenda made it plenty sweet for me, but I'm also a damn Yankee, so what do I know? :oP
After this feast, as my camp friend Karen would say, "I'm feelin' fat and sassy." Heh. I can't wait for the leftovers tomorrow, accompanied by a bit of the fried chicken I picked up tonight and completely forgot to eat with all of this. D'oh!
 |
| Southern-style black-eyed peas, collards, mac and cheese. |
I totally cheated with the black-eyed peas. They're from a can.
For the collards, I softened half of a thinly sliced onion in butter, then added some diced leftover Easter ham and two chopped-up slices of turkey bacon. Then I added two bunches of collards (washed, de-ribbed, and sliced into thin ribbons) and a little water, sugar, liquid smoke, apple cider vinegar, ketchup, and Tabasco. I simmered them for a good 30 minutes or so with the cover on, stirring and adding more liquid as needed. If you like yours really really soft and cooked down, let them go for longer.
Finally, I tried this mac and cheese recipe from Deep South Dish and was very pleased with the results -- extreme creamy goodness. I used cavatappi instead of elbows because their twisty tubes hold obscene amounts of nommy cheesiness. Droool. Also, I didn't bother with baking it but finished everything on the stovetop instead.
The pièce de résistance, though? A tall glass of "swayt tay". I used Deep South Dish's method for this too, steeping 6 tea bags for about 8 minutes. 1/4 cup each of sugar and Splenda made it plenty sweet for me, but I'm also a damn Yankee, so what do I know? :oP
After this feast, as my camp friend Karen would say, "I'm feelin' fat and sassy." Heh. I can't wait for the leftovers tomorrow, accompanied by a bit of the fried chicken I picked up tonight and completely forgot to eat with all of this. D'oh!
Thank you! It was delicious. :o)
ReplyDelete