Chicken and Dumplings.... Light

Well it's been awhile since I last posted here, but that doesn't mean I haven't maintained my interest in southern cooking, in Appalachian cooking.  I still can be found at least once or more a month cooking up a big pot of 'soup beans,' or frying some slices of country ham in the iron skillet.

One southern food I am not completely enamored of is the classic favorite "Chicken and Dumplings." I don't care that much for stewed chicken and it just never has held much appeal. But nothing says poor* Appalachian food more than a pot of dumplings simmering in broth, so I decided to give it a try tonight.

But how to make it at least somewhat healthy?    Well, I decided to use two chicken breasts and simmer them for about 50 minutes in a pot of low-sodium chicken broth.  I used 1 32 oz box of the broth and about two parts water.  They could honestly cook even longer, maybe even an hour and a half or more to make them more tender.  The last twenty minutes of cooking time, I added the dumplings by dropping spoonfuls of very moist biscuit dough (made out of low-fat biscuit mix and skim milk) into the broth.  I let it simmer 10 minutes without the lid and then replaced the lid for the final ten minutes of cooking time.

I will tell you that most of my dumplings turned to gravy, but a few survived and they were plump and delicious.  If I were doing this again I would add more dumplings to my pot, since some of them turned to gravy with the broth.  I don't really know how many calories this whole entree has but with skim milk, low fat biscuit mix and boneless chicken breasts at play, I think it was pretty low-cal.

For the southern food purists, this meal would not satisfy. No dark meat chicken, no buttery dumplings.  But for us tonight, it was just the ticket.  I found myself oddly satisfied by a dish I don't normally like that much. And served alongside cornbread and lima beans and fresh from the garden tomatoes and cucumbers.... well, that's a summer supper to remember!

*This article from the blog Serious Eats refutes the idea that chicken and dumplings is poor southern food.  It is a fascinating read.  I highly recommend it.

Mountain Dew Jello Salad.... how southern is that????

When I was a kid, an onslaught of different jello salads appeared at church potlucks and family dinners. Everyone, it seemed, brought at least two dishes.  A jello salad and something else...
In fact, in terms of potluck etiquette, my grandmother once told me you should bring one dish for each person who is attending with your family. So if my whole family went, then my mom should bring four dishes.  Wow.  I honestly must admit that I do fall into that trap of thinking I, too, must do that even now.  Bring an equal number of people and dishes.  But almost no one brings a jello salad to any potlucks that I have been part of in recent years.  Why? When did jello go out of style?


Granted, it isn't really in a food group, per se, and I'm not even sure it is IS food, but nothing is more comforting than jello.  And one of my favorite jello salads when I was a kid was this one that had Mountain Dew in it.  So, I looked through a bunch of my old cookbooks and ran across this beloved, amazing jewel of a dessert.  What decadence! I may have to prepare it tonight... It would sure make tomorrow something to write home about!



Mountain Dew Salad

2 boxes lemon jello (small)
1 c. hot water
2 c. Mountain Dew
2 c. miniature marshmallows
1 med. size can crushed pineapple, drained
2 or 3 bananas

Mix jello with hot water. Add Mountain Dew and pineapple. Fold in bananas and marshmallows. Chill until firm.

Topping:
1 pkg. instant lemon pie filling, prepared
2 c Cool Whip

Mix well and spread on jello.


Ohmygod.

Country Ham Biscuits and Red-Eye Gravy

I used to think the name 'red eye gravy' was a funny name. It was always served in conjunction with country ham and biscuits and tasted delicious.  Country ham is ham that is generally salt-cured for a few months, though sometimes the prep depends on the region of the south you are from. Where I am from, salt-cured hams are called country hams and they are known for their very salty taste. The meat is best served with (or on) buttermilk biscuits. And often red-eye gravy is served alongside, which is the pan drippings mixed with black coffee.

Eating a ham biscuit is one of the true joys of Appalachian mealtime. Ham biscuits are eaten for any meal of the day and are always delicious.  Country ham (salt-cured ham) is fried till done in a frying pan and cut up into pieces to fit on the biscuits.  Nothing else is needed on the biscuit to make it delicious but the red-eye gravy might be a nice 'dipping sauce' of sorts if the ham biscuit seems too dry.

Another way I love to eat country ham is on two slices of toasted white bread, slathered with mayonnaise.  The country ham sandwich is a true Appalachian delight, probably the best sandwich you will find anywhere.  You can add lettuce or tomato if you want, but truly the ham and mayo between toast is all you need.

I remember eating country ham sandwiches so often growing up. My paternal grandfather, Pa Wilder, would kill hogs to get the meat.  I remember when it got really cold for the first time in the winter it would be 'hog-killin' time,' time to slaughter the hogs and cure the meat.  All winter, then, we would have country ham, pieces of tenderloin, fresh sausage, bacon, and so on.  Every time it gets cold for the first time now, I still think to myself 'it's hog-killin' time.'

If I were making country ham today, here in Colorado, I usually have to buy it at Cracker Barrel to get the most authentic tasting ham.  I do sometimes buy ham slices at the store and fry them, but they don't taste quite as good as the authentic ham at Cracker Barrel. It is really easy to fry up some ham and put it between some buttermilk biscuits.  But, I honestly think I prefer the country ham sandwich for a true taste of home.

Eatin' cornbread every day

Back where I come from, you pretty much eat cornbread every day. It goes with anything that is being cooked up for dinner, most likely.  In the part of East Tennessee I was raised in, as well as other parts of the South, cornbread is NOT sweet. Since moving to Colorado, I have learned that this is a very specific taste preference by region and it is not necessarily divided down the Mason-Dixon line. Some folks who hail from southern regions put a little sugar in their cornbread and some do not. Same up north. But, whether you DO or you DON'T, one thing is clear: You are adamant that your way is the best way. (For more on cornbread and its regional peculiarities and origins, click here.)

So, my non-sweet cornbread recipe is basically a couple of cups of cornmeal, about a cup or so of buttermilk (just see how much you think works), about a third cup of Crisco, and an egg.  This all gets stirred up and poured into a skillet coated in Crisco that has been sitting in a hot oven (350 or so).  You bake it for about 25 or so minutes, till brown and crusty on top.   My husband's step-grandpa used to run a knife around the edge of the cornbread and flip his cornbread about two thirds of the way through the baking process to crust up both sides. I have never been brave enough to try that.

The old sayin' is "Where I come from the tea is sweet and the cornbread is NOT."
With that cornbread and tea, you might serve a big pot of soup beans with onions and chowchow. But we can get to that later...

Random First List of home cookin' foods

I live in Colorado now, but grew up in East Tennessee, with views of the Smoky Mountains. I am proud of my ET cookin' heritage. I had two grandmothers who were absolutely the best cooks ever. My mom's cooking also can't be beat, and I have nothing but wonderful, savory memories of meals around our family dinner table, eating my mom's cookin'.   I wanted to start a blog that highlights all the cuisine I remember growing up with and learning to cook.  I am hoping that it might someday turn into something bigger than words on a blogpost, but for now, I"ll start here.

First, this is my 'off the top of my head" first foods I thought of when I think of 'home cookin.'

Country ham

Biscuits

Corn bread (hoe cakes)

Soup beans

Chow chow

Chicken and dumplins 

(potato dumplins--which might be unique to my husband's family)

Fried chicken

Biscuits and sausage gravy

Fried okra

Sweet tea

Homemade Pie

Stack cake

Creamed corn

Sausage biscuits

Tenderloin

Tomato biscuits

Tomato sandwich w/mayo

Fried bologna sandwich

Stuffed peppers

Sawdust salad

Jello salad

Ramps

Collard greens

Turnip greens

Killed lettuce

What are the foods that remind you of 'them thar hills?'