The Darling Dahlias and the Silver Dollar Bush (28 page)

In the 1930s, many Southerners lived where fresh unhomogenized, unpasteurized milk was readily available, and many households produced their own butter, buttermilk, cream, and naturally soured cream. Many recipes from the period call for sour cream. The Southern cook would have understood that soured “top milk” could also be used. (When unhomogenized milk was allowed to sit, the cream rose to the top and was skimmed off. The layer just below the cream was “top milk,” and had slightly less butterfat than the cream itself.) Now, sour cream is commercially produced and is less often used as an ingredient in baked foods.

Raylene’s Strawberry-Rhubarb Crumb Pie

Most Darling cooks would never dream of using coriander in a pie. But that’s what makes Raylene Riggs’ cooking so special. She does the undreamed of—and everybody raves.

3 cups fresh rhubarb, thinly sliced, or sliced frozen rhubarb*

1 pint fresh strawberries, halved

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup sugar

½ teaspoon coriander

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 unbaked 9-inch pie shell

TOPPING:

¾ cup all-purpose flour

½ cup packed brown sugar

½ cup quick-cooking or old-fashioned oats

½ teaspoon nutmeg

½ cup cold butter, cut in small pieces

Sour cream for serving

Preheat oven to 400°F. Put rhubarb and strawberries in a large bowl and gently stir to mix. In a medium bowl, beat egg and vanilla. Beat in sugar, coriander, and flour, mixing well. Pour over fruit and stir to combine. Pour into pie shell.

For the topping, mix flour, brown sugar, oats, and nutmeg in a small bowl; cut in butter until crumbly. Sprinkle over fruit.

Bake at 400° for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 350° and bake for 35 minutes or until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbly. Serve with a dollop of sour cream.

*If you’re using frozen rhubarb, measure it while it is frozen. Thaw in a colander to drain, but do not press out the juice.

Mrs. Meeks’ Rhubarb-and-Sour-Cream Cake

Mrs. Meeks runs a boardinghouse for men only near the railroad tracks in Darling. She likes to make hearty desserts that go a long way. She says, “This cake can be made with either fresh or canned rhubarb. If you use fresh, be sure and slice it thin. If you run out of rhubarb and your zucchini plants have started producing, you can substitute 3 cups of sliced zucchinis and 1 cup of canned pineapple and a teaspoon of powdered ginger.” Mrs. Meeks says there are lots of ways to skin a cat.

¼ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

1½ cups lightly packed brown sugar

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla

1½ cups all-purpose flour, sifted

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup sour cream

4 cups sliced rhubarb (½-inch pieces)

⅓ cup sugar

½ teaspoon cinnamon

½ teaspoon nutmeg

Preheat oven to 375°F. Butter an 8-by-5-inch loaf pan and line with parchment or waxed paper. Cream butter and sugar until fluffy, about 3–4 minutes. Beat in egg and vanilla. Fold in flour and baking powder alternately with sour cream and rhubarb. Pour mixture into prepared pan. Combine sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg and sprinkle over cake mixture. Bake for 40 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into middle of cake comes out clean. Allow cake to cool in the pan for 30 minutes before turning out.

Bessie Bloodworth’s Sour Cream Cookies

1 cup butter

2 cups sugar

3 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup sour cream

5 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

3 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

1½ cups chopped pecans

TOPPING:

3 tablespoons sugar

½ teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease baking sheets. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, vanilla, and sour cream; mix well. Stir flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda into shortening mixture to make a stiff dough. Add chopped pecans. Drop teaspoonfuls of dough onto prepared baking sheets. For the topping, mix sugar, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Lightly grease the bottom of a small drinking glass. Dip it into topping mixture and gently press cookies to flatten balls of dough slightly. Bake at 350° for 10–15 minutes, until lightly browned. Cool on rack.

Sally-Lou’s Pecan-and-Sour-Cream Coffee Cake

This recipe uses pecans, a favorite that is readily available everywhere in the South, and sour cream. Soured top milk or even buttermilk could also be used. This cake, baked in a tube pan, was often served for breakfast or as a teatime treat.

TO DUST THE TUBE PAN:

½ cup sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

TO MAKE THE CAKE:

½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup sugar

3 eggs

2 cups sifted all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

1 cup sour cream

TO MAKE THE TOPPING:

½ cup light brown sugar, packed

2 teaspoons all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon cinnamon

¼ teaspoon nutmeg

¼ teaspoon cloves

2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces

¾ cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350°F. In a small bowl, mix ½ cup sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon. To prepare tube pan, butter it well and coat it liberally with sugar-cinnamon mixture.

To make the cake: Cream butter and sugar together until smooth. Add eggs and mix until light and fluffy. Blend sifted flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add flour mixture to butter mixture, alternating with sour cream. Mix well. Pour batter into prepared pan.

To make the topping: Combine brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. Cut in butter. With your fingers, rub ingredients into a sandy, crumbly mixture. Add pecans and mix. Sprinkle mixture over cake batter.

Bake until risen and browned, about 35–40 minutes. Let cool in pan then turn out. You may need to run a thin knife around tube to free up cake. Serve topping-side up, in slices.

Twyla Sue’s Moonshine Mustard

In a time and place where moonshine was locally produced, many cooks made use of it in everyday cooking. Twyla Sue’s mustard is a good example. Moonshine was also used to flavor cakes (especially holiday fruitcakes), cookies, pies, and meat dishes.

½ cup yellow mustard seeds

½ cup black mustard seeds

4 tablespoons water

3 tablespoons flour

½–1 teaspoon chili powder or cayenne (optional)

⅔ cup cider vinegar

⅔ cup whiskey

½ cup honey

1 tablespoon nutmeg

1 tablespoon salt

Grind mustard seeds to a powder, using a coffee grinder or a mortar and pestle. In a nonreactive bowl, mix mustard powder with water and leave for half an hour. Add flour with cayenne or chili powder (choose how much heat you want) and mix well. Add vinegar, whiskey, honey, nutmeg, and salt and mix until well blended. Cover and let stand overnight. The next day, check for consistency: if dry, add more honey, if thin, add a teaspoon of flour. The mustard will continue to thicken. Pour into sterilized jars and seal. Put in a cool, dark place to mature for 2–3 weeks. Refrigerate after opening.

Raylene’s Sautéed Liver, with Apples and Onions

Many Southerners like their liver breaded and fried, Louisiana style, or boiled and made into “liver mush” (a liver paté made with cornmeal), which is sliced and fried for breakfast. Raylene prefers to sauté her liver and serve it with apples and caramelized onions. This recipe will serve two.

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 large onion, sliced

1 clove garlic, minced

½ teaspoon dried thyme

1 teaspoon rosemary, minced

Salt and pepper to taste

2 apples, peeled, cored and sliced into 1-inch slices

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

¾ pound calf’s liver, sliced into 2-inch strips

½ cup white wine (Raylene says whiskey is good, too)

To caramelize onion: Heat two tablespoons olive oil in a large frying pan. Reduce heat to low and add sliced onion, garlic, thyme, rosemary, salt, and pepper. Cook, uncovered, for 40–45 minutes, until onion is tender and almost caramelized. Do not let it burn. While onion is cooking, sauté apples in butter until lightly brown, set aside and keep warm. Remove onion from frying pan and keep warm. Add remaining olive oil and sauté liver quickly on both sides, about three minutes altogether, until the outside is browned, the inside pink. Add wine and over high heat scrape up cooking juices. Put liver onto a serving dish with warm onions and apple. Serve immediately.

Ophelia’s Mother’s Whiskey Cake

1 cup flour

½ teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon baking soda

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

½ cup brown sugar

½ cup granulated sugar

3 large eggs

¼ cup milk

½ cup honey

¼ cup whiskey

1 cup raisins

Sour cream or vanilla ice cream for serving

Preheat oven to 350°F. In a bowl, mix flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, and baking soda. In a large bowl, beat butter until creamy; gradually add brown and granulated sugars and mix well. Add eggs one at a time, beating well. Then beat in flour mixture, ⅓ at a time, alternately with milk, dry ingredients last. Mix in honey, then whiskey and raisins. Pour batter into a greased, parchment-paper-lined 10-inch cake pan and bake for 30–35 minutes. Cool. Serve the cake with sour cream or vanilla ice cream.

Raylene’s Buttermilk Whiskey Pie

1½ cups granulated sugar

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 cup buttermilk, divided

3 eggs, slightly beaten

¼ cup melted butter

1 tablespoon whiskey

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 unbaked 9-inch piecrust

Preheat oven to 425°F. In a large bowl, combine sugar, flour, and ½ cup buttermilk. Add beaten eggs and remaining ½ cup buttermilk; mix well. Mix in melted butter, whiskey, and vanilla. Pour into prepared piecrust. Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce heat to 350°F and bake approximately 25–30 minutes, until the top is lightly brown and the center is just set. Pie will become more firm as it cools.