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Peanut pie

Peanut pie This pie is as American as pumpkin or pecan. Peanuts (which are actually legumes, not truly nuts) originated in South America over 7,600 years ago. African-American trail-blazing scientist George Washington Carver is credited with popularizing them in the U.S. Completely cool peanut pie before cutting and serving. • 3 beaten eggs• 1 1/2 […]

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Pate Brisee

Pate Brisee(aka pie pastry) For 2 crusts: • 2 1/2 c. unbleached all-purpose flour• 1 tsp. salt• 1 T. sugar• 1/2 c. EACH unsalted butter and unhydrogenated lard, preferred, or 1 c. unsalted butter• 1/3-1/2 c. ice water All ingredients and utensils MUST be cold or cool. To make pastry in a food processor: Cut […]

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Southern Foodways Symposium

My eyes were riveted on my laptop screen like a prepubescent adolescent’s anxiously awaiting Justin Bieber concert tickets to go on sale. The last few minutes went by with excruciating slowness, my hands poised over the keyboard. Suddenly the registration link activated. One click and it filled the screen. Hurriedly typing in my personal and […]

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Chicken purloo

Chicken purloo •    1 approximately 4-pound chicken, cut into serving pieces•    Kosher salt•    3 T. bacon fat or peanut or other vegetable oil, divided•    2 c. diced yellow onions, NOT supersweet•    1 c. diced celery•    2 T. minced garlic•    1/2 c. diced green or red bell pepper•    1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes or to […]

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Spooky eyes

Spooky eyes • Hard-boiled eggs, shelled• Black food coloring• Mayonnaise• Turmeric, optional• Dijon mustard• Cider vinegar• Kosher or sea salt and freshly ground white pepper to taste• Extra large pimento-stuffed green olives (or smaller ones if your eggs are small) The day before you plan to serve the “eyes,” fill a large jar or deep […]

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Bloody good gravy

Bloody good gravyto be served with roast beast Sure, you can serve spaghetti with tomato sauce and give it a creepy name, maybe Guts and Gore. But let’s face it: everybody will know it’s just, well, spaghetti and tomato sauce. The dark red/purple beets do a much better job of imitating actual blood. In fact, […]

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Snake in the ceiling

If there had not been that snake in the ceiling, we might never have done it. My husband, Peter, and I knew when we bought the Spaulding Orchard farmhouse that we would eventually want to do some remodeling. But initially we only made minor changes, partly because of financial reasons, and because we wanted to […]

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Ratatouille

•    8 c. peeled, seeded and chopped tomatoes•    6 c. eggplant (remove any largely seeded areas), cut into 1-inch cubes•    6 c. onions, NOT super-sweet, cut into 1- inch cubes•    1/3 c. thinly sliced garlic•    6 c. zucchini (remove any largely seeded areas), cut into 1-inch cubes•    6 c. bell peppers – red, green or […]

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Nona’s chicken tetrazzini

I love this dish, which combines Italian ingredients with a truly American retro topping: crushed potato chips. As a child that topping was my favorite part of my mom’s tuna noodle casserole. Nona’s seasoning:•   2 1/2 tsp. paprika• 2 T. salt• 2 T. garlic powder• 1 T. (freshly ground) black pepper• 1 T. onion powder• 1 […]

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