~ The Complete Southern Cookbook ~

Yes, I have added another cookbook to my collection. The Complete Southern Cookbook by Tammy Algood. I had the honor of meeting Mrs. Algood back when she helped organize the Wine Making Contest at the Tennessee State Fair. She promotes local agriculture for the UT Extension and is a familiar face in the pages of The Tennessean and on local television. She tells you things you probably never think about like ... eggs should be stored with the large end up to center the yolk ... one pound of almonds yields five cups of sliced nuts ... don't buy lightweight melons. This cookbook states it contains "More than 800 of the Most Delicious Down-Home Recipes" and I look forwarding to giving them a try. ~ Chef Wilkinson ~

~ Checking out the Competition ~

This past weekend I decided to try some pulled pork BBQ at Martin's BBQ Joint located in Nolensville, TN. I have to say despite the fact of it being a bit pricey (my opinion of course) next to mine the BBQ was quite good. The meat was rarer than I prefer but very moist and the smoke was right on the money. The charred portions were nice and crisp not hard. They serve their sandwiches with a vinegar based sauce but I asked for a rib sauce, which was very good. It was very bold with a nice smoke flavor. Their webpage states that they serve their sandwiches with slaw but mine was absent the slaw, which was fine with me. It is served on a potato bun which was very fresh. The fries are with the peeling and seasoned with a cracked pepper. Again, for me it was a little pricey but compared to what other BBQ restaurants have to offer Martin's BBQ Joint gives the taste buds something to sing about. Stop in and give them a try. They are located at 7215 Nolensville Road. ~ Chef Wilkinson ~

http://www.martinsbbqjoint.com/menu

~~~~~~ Happy Thanksgiving ~~~~~~

I hope you and your family have a

Scrumptious Thanksgiving Weekend! (photo courtesy of Alexandra)

~ Chef Wilkinson ~

~-~-~ Pumpkin Pie from Scratch ~-~-~

Things You'll Need:
pie pumpkin
1 (12 oz.) can of evaporated milk
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon of salt
2 large eggs
1 (9-inch) pie shell
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
For pie shell:
1.5 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup firm unsalted butter
1/3 cup ice water

Instructions:
1. Cut your pie pumpkin in half and remove the stem. Scoop out the seeds and extra string. Place both halves on a foil lined baking sheet and cover with foil. Bake your pumpkin at 350˚ for about 1.5 hours or until tender. Scoop out the flesh, which should be quite soft and puree the pumpkin using a hand or regular blender.

2. After your pumpkin has been prepared, combine together the sugar, cinnamon, ground cloves, ginger and salt. In a separate bowl beat eggs and stir in your dry ingredients as well as your pumpkin. Mix well and slowly add in the evaporated milk while you stir. Make sure the filling is blended and smooth. Preheat your oven to 375˚

3. For your pie shell cut your butter into the flour mixture. Use an electric mixer to combine the ingredients. Pour in the ice water a little at a time (on low speed) until your mixture begins to clump and hold together. Remove the formed dough from the mixer and sprinkle a bit of flour before wrapping in plastic wrap and refrigerating for an hour. Remove the dough after it has set in the refrigerator and roll out the dough using a pie crust bag or placing it in between wax paper. Place the dough in your pie pan and shape the edges however you like. Pour your pumpkin mixture into your pie shell.

4. With your oven already pre-heated, bake pie in the middle of the oven for 50 to 65 minutes. Cool and serve with whipped cream with a dash of cinnamon on top. You have just made pumpkin pie from scratch!

It is alot of trouble ... but oh so yummy!

~ Chef Wilkinson ~

- - - Ready? - - -

Time is running out!

Do you have your grocery list prepared?

Or are you a step ahead and already have the ingredients you will be needing?

Either way in 2 days all the hard work and preparation will pay off when you and your family sit down to this ...

~ Chef Wilkinson ~

~*~*~ A Thanksgiving Poem ~*~*~

TWAS THE NIGHT OF THANKSGIVING,

BUT I JUST COULDN'T SLEEP.

I TRIED COUNTING BACKWARDS,

I TRIED COUNTING SHEEP.

~ ~ ~
THE LEFTOVERS BECKONED -
THE DARK MEAT AND WHITE,
I FOUGHT THE TEMPTATION
WITH ALL OF MY MIGHT.
~ ~ ~
TOSSING AND TURNING WITH ANTICIPATION,
THE THOUGHT OF A SNACK BECAME INFATUATION.
SO, I RACED TO THE KITCHEN, FLUNG OPEN THE DOOR,
AND GAZED AT THE FRIDGE, FULL OF GOODIES GALORE.
~ ~ ~
GOBBLED UP TURKEY AND BUTTERED POTATOES,
PICKLES AND CARROTS, BEANS AND TOMATOES.
I FELT MYSELF SWELLING SO PLUMP AND SO ROUND,
'TIL ALL OF A SUDDEN, I ROSE OFF THE GROUND.
~ ~ ~
I CRASHED THROUGH THE CEILING ...

FLOATING INTO THE SKY,
WITH A MOUTHFUL OF PUDDING ...

AND A HANDFUL OF PIE.
BUT, I MANAGED TO YELL ...

AS I SOARED PAST THE TREES,
HAPPY EATING TO ALL ...

PASS THE CRANBERRIES, PLEASE.
~ ~ ~
MAY YOUR STUFFING BE TASTY,
MAY YOUR TURKEY BE PLUMP,
MAY YOUR POTATOES 'N GRAVY ...

HAVE NARY A LUMP,
MAY YOUR YAMS BE DELICIOUS,
MAY YOUR PIES TAKE THE PRIZE,
MAY YOUR THANKSGIVING DINNER,
STAY OFF OF YOUR THIGHS!!
~ ~ ~
HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL!

(click on link below)
PUMPKIN PIE
~ Chef Wilkinson ~

~ Red-Eye Gravy ~

No meal consisting of country ham is complete without Red-Eye Gravy. Red-Eye Gravy's name comes from an American slang term for its principal ingredient ... coffee ... aka "red-eye". Prepared traditionally, when coffee and grease are not combined until the end the coffee and grease form a heterogeneous mixture, with the water-based coffee sinking to the bottom and the oil-based grease forming the top layer. In a round bowl the mixture looks much like a red eye, the coffee giving the red hue and the grease looking like a human iris. Less traditional preparation techniques do not always result in the "red eye" appearance, leading to folk legends surrounding the origin of the name. For instance, that former United States President Andrew Jackson requested ham with gravy as red as his cook's eyes, which were bloodshot from drinking the night before, or that the black coffee in the gravy will keep people awake.
The basic recipe for red-eye gravy is quite simple. After the ham has been cooked, the grease is removed from the pan. Black coffee is then used to deglaze the pan. The coffee and grease are then poured into the same container in a one to one ratio.
Other recipes exist, using water instead of coffee, or adding coffee with grease still present in the pan. When the coffee is added to the grease in this manner, a homogeneous mixture may result that lacks the "red eye" appearance.

~ Chef Wilkinson ~

~ Country Ham ~

A Southern Tradition of course.

Another food the Holidays would not be complete without.

Curing hams and other meats used to be a necessity. The whole country ham curing process was developed because people needed a way to preserve their fresh pork in the days without refrigeration. Curing whole hams became a country art, much like wagon making and quilting. It was passed down from one generation to the next, with each family safely guarding their secrets.
The taste and flavor of a man's ham was his trademark and a source of family pride. People didn't just talk about their hams, they had their neighbors over for a big country ham breakfast including eggs and scratch biscuits or fried chicken and grits with fried corn, topped off with homemade peach preserves and sorghum molasses with fresh butter from the farm, with the center of the meal being the country ham.
Most folks would use five to eight pounds of salt for each 100 pounds of meat. That was a rule of thumb in the country. They'd prepare a salt rub of salt, molasses and other "secret" ingredients that suited each family's taste and rub it onto the ham by hand. The salt covered ham was then set on shelves in the smokehouse and left to "take the salt", allowing seven days per inch of thickness - about six to eight weeks, adding a day for every day the weather was below freezing.
The second stage of the curing process was smoking the meat. Smoking usually took place in the early spring when the peach trees began to bloom. The salt cured hams were washed and hung from the rafters of the smokehouse. A fire was built below on the dirt floor. Choice woods such as hickory, oak, apple or peach bark or other items such as corn cobs and sassafras were burned to create a signature smoke. The smoke was kept going continuously for six to seven days or until the meat took on a thick, delicious, brown crust. Smoking the meat for too long made the meat dry and tough, but done just right, the crust served to seal in all of the wonderful natural juices of the ham.

Present Day ... a lot has changed in the curing process as well as the quality of the hams.

~ Chef Wilkinson ~

- Pomegranates -

What's all the hype? Lately, everywhere you look there are ads for pomegranates. I decided to do some research and here is what I found.

Once you open the pomegranate by scoring it with a knife and breaking it open, the arils (seed casings) are separated from the peel and internal white pulp membranes. Separating the red arils is easier in a bowl of water because the arils sink and the inedible pulp floats. Freezing the entire fruit also makes it easier to separate.
The entire seed is consumed raw, though the watery, tasty aril is the desired part. The taste differs depending on the species of pomegranate and its ripeness. The pomegranate juice can be very sweet or sour, but most fruits are moderate in taste, with sour notes from the acidic tannins contained in the aril juice.
Dried pomegranate arils, found in some natural specialty food markets, still contain the seed and residual aril water, maintaining a natural sweet and tart flavor. Dried arils can be used in several culinary applications, such as trail mix, granola bars, or as a topping for salad, yogurt, or ice cream. Chocolate covered arils, also available in gourmet food stores, may be added to desserts and baked items.

Pomegranate aril juice provides about 16% of an adult's daily vitamin C requirement and is a good source of vitamin B5, potassium and polyphenols.

In preliminary laboratory research and human pilot studies, juice of the pomegranate was effective in reducing heart disease risk factors. In a limited study of hypertensive patients, consumption of pomegranate juice for two weeks was shown to reduce systolic blood pressure. Juice consumption may also inhibit viral infections while pomegranate extracts have antibacterial effects against dental plaque. I'm still not sure what all the hype is about. ~ Chef Wilkinson ~

~ Cranberries ~

Cranberries are harvested in the fall when the fruit takes on its distinctive deep red color. This is usually in late September or early October. To harvest cranberries, the beds are flooded with six to eight inches of water above the vines. A harvester is driven through the beds to remove the fruit. For the past 50 years, water reel type harvesters have been used. Harvested cranberries float in the water and can be corralled into a corner of the bed. From the farm, cranberries are taken to receiving stations where they are cleaned, sorted and stored prior to packaging or processing. Although most cranberries are wet-picked as described above, 5-10% of the US crop is still dry-picked. This entails higher labor costs and lower yield, but dry-picked berries are less bruised and can be sold as fresh fruit instead of having to be immediately frozen or processed. White cranberry juice is made from regular cranberries that have been harvested after the fruits are mature but before they have attained their characteristic dark red color. About 95% of cranberries are processed into products such as juice drinks, sauce and sweetened dried cranberries. The remaining 5% are sold fresh to consumers. Cranberry juice is a major use of cranberries; it is usually either sweetened to make "cranberry juice cocktail" or blended with other fruit juices to reduce its natural severe tartness. Usually cranberries as fruit are cooked into a jelly, known as cranberry sauce. Thanksgiving Dinner would not be complete without it. ~ Chef Wilkinson ~

~oOo~ Succotash ~oOo~

Not that bought stuff. I am sure most of you know what Succotash is but in case there are some of you that don't ... the dish I made consisted of lima beans, whole kernel corn, diced tomatoes, seasonings and of course okra. See I told you that was going to come in handy this winter. Because of the relatively inexpensive ingredients Succotash was popular during the Great Depression. During this time it was sometimes cooked in a casserole form with a light pie crust on top as in a traditional pot pie. Succotash is a traditional dish of many Thanksgiving celebrations in New England. ~ Chef Wilkinson ~

~ Chocolate becoming the New Caviar? ~

Chocolate is getting more expensive.

The reports say there is a shortage that's been building for the past six (6) years. The main reason - farmers in West Africa have little incentive to plant cocoa trees. The trees take three (3) years to mature and growers earn less than a $1 a day selling to big corporations. One expert says in 20 years, the average Joe won't be able to afford chocolate unless new research into growing higher-yielding trees prove fruitful.

Now, I have two (2) questions about this report ...

1) if the "experts" have known this for six (6) years why are they just now "attempting" to do something about it and,

2) if you read my blog about Chocolate back in August you will remember what a pain-staking method it is to cultivate the product. Why are we only paying them less than a $1.00 a day?

So, this is another prime example of Corporate Greed, which will eventually cost all Chocolate Loving Americans! ~ Chef Wilkinson ~

~~~~~~~~~ Thank You ~~~~~~~~~

~ Chef Wilkinson ~

~ Casseroles ~

Is it my imagination or is there an over abundance of casseroles these days? Potato casseroles, broccoli casseroles, cheese casseroles, chicken casseroles, sweet potato casseroles, green bean casseroles and on and on and on. I'm not sure if this is due to seeking an easier way to prepare a meal or for economic purposes. Whatever the reason pick a food and I am sure there is a casserole recipe for it. ~ Chef Wilkinson ~

~ Shoney's ~

Back in the day Shoney's was the place to go for a great meal. As a kid it was a special event when you went. Then like most restaurant chains Corporate Executives kept cutting and cutting until the food was anything but enjoyable. Recently, we visited a local Shoney's and I was quite surprised! It was very close to the old days. The Slim Jim was fresh and piled high ... the onion rings were crisp. And the Hot Fudge cake was just as I remember them as a child (just smaller). So if you still have a Shoney's in your neighborhood (there are not many left) stop by and give them a try. ~ Chef Wilkinson ~

~ National Cornbread Cook-Off Winner ~

Lori Stephens of Hendersonville, Tenn., won $5,000 as the Grand Prize winner of the 2010 National Cornbread Cook-Off with her Bacon and Gorgonzola Cornbread Sliders with Chipotle Mayo recipe. The National Cornbread Cook-Off is held in conjunction with the National Cornbread Festival in South Pittsburg, Tenn., and is sponsored by Martha White and Lodge Cast Iron.

For the Sliders ...

Crisco Original No-Stick Cooking Spray

2 (6.5 oz.) packages Martha White® Yellow Cornbread Mix
1/2 cup Martha White All-Purpose Flour
1 1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup sour cream
1 large egg, lightly beaten
3 tablespoons chopped chives
8 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
3/4 cup crumbled Gorgonzola cheese

For the Burgers ...
2 tablespoons butter
1 medium yellow onion, sliced into thin rings
1 1/2 pounds ground chuck
1 large egg
1/2 cup Italian style bread crumbs
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
12 small slices cheddar cheese (1/2 ounce each)

For the Chipotle Mayo ...
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, chopped with 1 teaspoon of adobo sauce

1. Heat oven to 400F. Spray 2 cast iron straight-sided muffin pans (6 cups each) with no-stick cooking spray. Stir together cornbread mix, flour, milk, sour cream and egg in medium bowl until well blended. Stir in chives, bacon and cheese. Fill prepared muffin pans 3/4 full. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown. (Any remaining batter may be made into additional muffins.)

2. Melt butter in a 12-inch cast iron skillet over medium-low heat. Add onions. Cook until onions are translucent, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove onions and set aside.

3. Combine ground chuck, egg, bread crumbs, garlic, salt and pepper in large bowl. Blend well. Divide into 12 equal portions. Pat out into thin burgers. Cook in skillet over medium to medium-high heat until done. Top each burger with slice of cheese.

4. Combine mayonnaise, chipotle pepper and adobo sauce. Slice cornbread to make buns. Spread thin layer of chipotle mayo on top and bottom. Place burger on bottom halves. Top with onions. Place top on burger. Makes 6 servings (2 sliders each)

~ Chef Wilkinson ~

~ Winter has Officially Arrived ~

Got my first harvest of turnips greens yesterday so to me that means ... Winter is here! Got them cleaned, cooked and will put them in the freezer today. That will definitely be some fantastic eats this winter. ~ Chef Wilkinson ~

- - - Customer Service in America - - -

I have blogged about this subject before referencing a local business - this time I am referencing PUBLIX! Yes, Publix! I guess so many people have been buffaloed into "thinking" they are more than your "average super market" that they too now have the attitude of "take your business elsewhere". They have stooped to gimmick ads. You know where they advertise an item but when you go to get it they never had it to begin with? So I began to research customer complaints against Publix and WOW I was surprised to find there are thousands! Everything from cockroaches in loaf bread manufactured at their very own Lakeland, Florida facility to refusing to allow a lady to enter their store due to she had a Service Dog ... a Federal violation! So before you spend more of your hard earned money by shopping at Publix go to Wal-Mart ... we've all become accustomed to getting crappy customer service there! ~ Chef Wilkinson ~

~ God's Foods - Part 3 ~

Celery, Bok Choy, Rhubarb and many more look just like bones. These foods specifically target bone strength. Bones are 23% sodium and these foods are 23% sodium. If you don't have enough sodium in your diet, the body pulls it from the bones, thus making them weak. These foods replenish the skeletal needs of the body.

Sweet Potatoes look like the pancreas and actually balance the glycemic index of diabetics.

Onions look like the body's cells. Today's research shows onions help clear waste materials from all of the body cells. They even produce tears which wash the epithelial layers of the eyes. A working companion, Garlic, also helps eliminate waste materials and dangerous free radicals from the body.

Now that we know what foods God intended us to eat ... store up and do your body good. And remember they are much more beneficial when eaten raw. ~ Chef Wilkinson ~

~ God's Foods - Part 2 ~

Grapes hang in a cluster that has the shape of the heart. Each grape looks like a blood cell and research today shows grapes are a profound heart and blood vitalizing food.

A Walnut looks like a little brain. Containing a left and right hemisphere, upper cerebrums and lower cerebellums. Even the wrinkles or folds on the nut are just like the neo-cortex. Walnuts help develop more than three (3) dozen neuron-transmitters for brain function.

Kidney Beans actually heal and help maintain kidney function and yes, they look exactly like the human kidneys.

Part 3 tomorrow! ~ Chef Wilkinson ~

~ God's Foods ~

God separated the salt water from the fresh ...

made dry land ...

planted a garden ...

made animals and fish ...

All before making the first human.

He made and provided what we would need before we were even born.

These food items are best and more powerful when eaten raw.

God also left us great visual clues as to what foods help what parts of our bodies!

A sliced Carrot looks like the human eye. The pupil, iris and radiating lines look just like the human eye ... and YES, science now shows carrots greatly enhance blood flow to the eyes.

A Tomato has four chambers and is red. The heart has four chambers and is red. All of the research shows tomatoes are loaded with lycopine and are indeed a pure heart and blood food.

More tomorrow! ~ Chef Wilkinson ~