Southern Buttermilk Cornbread

By Dorothea Malloy

Cast iron is traditional for southern cornbread.  It gives the bread a crispier bottom crust, as does adding hot, melted butter to the batter before baking.

1 stick of butter (1/2 cup)

4 cups stone-ground corn meal

4 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

2 tsp sugar or honey (optional)

8 TB buttermilk powder

2 cups water (or use 2 cups buttermilk instead of the buttermilk powder and water)

2 eggs

1.       Place the butter in a large cast iron skillet put in the oven.  Turn the oven to 400 degrees.

2.       While the oven is heating, mix all the dry ingredients together.  Add the eggs and water or buttermilk and mix thoroughly.

3.       When butter is melted, remove the pan from the oven and pour it into the batter, stirring it in. 

4.       Pour the batter into the hot pan and return to the oven.  Bake for 25-30 minutes, turning once if it is browning unevenly.  Remove when a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

Dried Fruit Cake

By Dorothea Malloy

This recipe is based on my mother’s fruitcake, which in turn was based on her mother’s applesauce cake.  I added some whole wheat flour and replaced the candied fruit with dried fruit.

1 cup butter, softened

2 cups sugar

2 cups unsweetened applesauce

2 cups whole wheat flour

2 cups unbleached white flour

1 tsp salt

½ tsp nutmeg

½ tsp ginger

½ tsp allspice

½ tsp cinnamon

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup raisins

½ cup dried apricots, chopped

½ cup dates, chopped

½ cup dried cranberries

½ cup dried cherries, blueberries, or other dried fruit

2 cups pecans, roughly chopped

Bourbon, rum, or brandy

Aluminum foil, plastic wrap, and cheesecloth for wrapping cakes

1.      .Place the dried raisins and other fruits in a bowl and cover with water.  Let soak for an hour or two.  Drain.

2.       Cream butter and sugar.  Add applesauce and mix well.

3.       Stir together flour, salt, salt and spices.  Add gradually to applesauce mixture while mixing.

4.       Mix in dissolved baking soda and vanilla.  Add fruit and pecans and mix well.

5.       Pour batter into three greased or non-stick 8.5 inch loaf pans.  Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour, until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

6.       Cool in the pans on a wire rack until cakes shrink a little away from the sides.  Remove from the pans and leave on the rack until completely cool.

7.       Tear off a sheet of aluminum foil large enough to cover one cake.  Cut a piece of cheesecloth large enough to wrap around the cake.   Place the cheesecloth on a plate and saturate it with the liquor.  Wrap the cheesecloth around the cake.  Cover the cake in plastic wrap, and then in aluminum foil, sealing the edges.  Repeat with the other two cakes.

8.       Store cakes in a cool place or in the refrigerator for four to six weeks.  Once a week, unwrap the cakes and add more liquor.

Dorothea's Minestrone Soup

When Michael and I were in Rome in 1976, all of our meals were served in a restaurant.  They served a Minestrone soup that I absolutely loved, and I have never found a recipe to exactly match it.  This is my best approximation of that soup. Makes 6-8 servings.

Ingredients:

1 TB olive oil
2 cups mixed finely chopped vegetables: celery, sweet onions, carrots, and yellow squash (light on the carrots)
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes, no salt added
1 qt carton unsalted chicken stock
1 tsp Italian seasonings, ground, or 2 tsp if not ground
1/4 tsp ground pepper
2 tsp sea salt
1 15 oz can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup shell-shaped pasta
freshly grated Parmesan cheese
chopped fresh basil leaves

1. Heat olive oil in a large soup pot.
2. Add chopped vegetables and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft.
3. Add garlic and cook 1 minute longer.
4. Add diced tomatoes with juice, chicken stock, and seasonings, pepper, and salt.
5. Simmer for 10 minutes.*
6. Bring to a boil and add pasta.  Cook for five minutes.
7. Reduce to a simmer, add drained and rinsed beans, and cook five minutes longer.
8. Check seasonings.
9. Spoon into bowls and top each with grated Parmesan and chopped basil leaves.

*To prep ahead, remove the soup from the heat at this point and cool.  Store in the refrigerator or freezer.  When ready to use, begin with step 6.

Individual Stuffed Meatloaves Preparation

I decided to make Mom's Individual Stuffed Meatloaves for Dad's birthday, which we are celebrating next week. Since it's been years since I made them before, I wanted to try the recipe once before doing it for a crowd.  Besides, the recipe is a little inexact on the amounts of filling ingredients to use.  Sean took pictures of the process, which are posted below.