Alabama Hometown Cookbook (Sample)
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Alabama Hometown Cookbook (Sample) Do you find that the hardest part of cooking for your family is coming up with what to cook? Great American Cookbooks can help make that so simple with easy-to-follow, delicious-tasting recipes from hometown cooks across the USA. Our goal is to provide everyday recipes for the everyday cook. That is why we strive to select the best recipes using ingredients most cooks already have in their kitchen. Just to give you an idea of the great cookbooks Great American has to offer, here is a small sample of Alabama Hometown Cookbook. Each book we produce is a full-color, top- quality cookbook with 200 to 300 wonderful family recipes. We also include interesting stories and articles that will bring you and your family hours of fun. Thank you for taking the time to view this Great American Cookbook Sample. HometownAlabama Cookbook HometownAlabama Cookbook by SHEILA SIMMONS & KENT WHITAKER Great American Publishers www.GreatAmericanPublishers.com TOLL-FREE 1.888.854.5954 Recipe Collection © 2016 by Great American Publishers ALL RIGHTS RESERVED All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. Great American Publishers 171 Lone Pine Church Road • Lena, MS 39094 TOLL-FREE 1-888-854-5954 • www.GreatAmericanPublishers.com ISBN 978-1-934817-27-8 First Edition 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 by Sheila Simmons & Kent Whitaker Contents Introduction ............................ 7 Appetizers & Beverages ................ .9 Bread & Breakfast ..................... .33 Soups & Salads ........................ .57 Vegetables & Other Side Dishes ....... .89 Meats & Main Dishes ................. 113 Chicken & Seafood ................... 137 Cakes ................................. 163 Cookies & Candies ................... 183 Pies & Other Desserts ................ 201 Alabama Festivals ..................... 233 Index ................................. 243 Great American Cookbook .......... 254 Introduction It’s hard to believe it’s been 10 years since Sheila and I teamed up to pen the first book in the State Hometown Cookbook Series—Tennessee Hometown Cookbook. Since then, the series has grown to include editions for Georgia, South Carolina, Mississippi, Texas, Louisiana, West Virginia, and now Alabama. Each book in the series has been a joy to write as we learn about each unique state and get to know the people. Alabama Hometown Cookbook will always hold a special place in my heart. Shortly after we began work on the book my mother Arleta Whitaker—born in Wylam, Alabama— suddenly fell ill then passed away just before Thanksgiving. Soon after, my dad suddenly passed days before Christmas. Just weeks before we lost her, I was working with Mom discovering recipes for dishes from my childhood. Reading the recipes in hand was like coming home and I had a promise from Mom to dig out more on my next visit. She kept her promise. When my brothers and I were sorting through her kitchen, we found where she had gathered several more Alabama recipes as well as the recipe box from her parents’ house in Wylam. Creating a cookbook takes time and patience. When I started the book, Mom was fully able to help me with recipes and stories. I continued to compile the book over the period of Mom and Dad getting sick to their passing. As I finished the book, we were settling their estate. Alabama Hometown Cookbook has been an emotional two years in the making with every dish opening a memory. I found, though, as the recipes flowed—from my brothers, cousins, extended family and friends—the book became a vehicle for my healing. Sheila and I received many great recipes from people across the state. In addition to recipes from my family, many came from my wife Ally’s mom, Joan Nagem, and family from Auburn and Opelika. Sheila’s ties to Alabama—her grandparents had a house in Birmingham for many years eventually moving permanently to a beautiful place on the Coosa River surrounded on three sides by water—meant a number of recipes were submitted by her family. As with other books in the series, many other cooks across the state sent us their favorite recipes. Each state has a culinary heritage that creates one slice in the pie of our nation’s culinary history. Alabama is no different. You can certainly expect to enjoy some good, old-fashioned cooking with recipes for Mom’s Shortbread, Summer Cucumber Dip and Plate Licking Meatloaf. Bloomin’ Onion Bread, Barbecue Shrimp and Dreamsicle Cheesecake on your table will bring you raves from your family. From Daytona Chicken to Southern Tea Cookies, Jalapeño Popper Chili to Summer Strawberry Pie, Pepper Jelly Cheese Straws to Honey Tomatoes and Goat Cheese to Loaded Shepherd’s Pie, you will discover excellent recipes for new creations as well as those that have been handed down for generations. This book wouldn’t be possible without the help of many people. I dedicate this book to my mother Arleta Campbell Whitaker of Wylam, as well as my dad Eli M. Whitaker. Dad may have been a Mississippi boy, but he introduced me to fishing off Orange Beach and Magnolia Springs. Mom and Dad spent countless summers traveling the great state of Alabama with three young boys in the station wagon. Thank you to our Great American team forever supporting our efforts—Brooke Craig and Diane Rothery, Krista Griffin, Amber Feiock, Tory Hackett, Anita Musgrove, Sheree Smith, Christy Kent Campbell, Pam Larson, Jennifer Coley, Cyndi Clark and Gennell Goodman. Plus a special thanks to Pam Edwards for your organization and research, and to Nichole Stewart for your new passion for design. Sheila and I could never do what we do without the support of our spouses. Thank you Allyson Whitaker and Roger Simmons. Our sincerest thank you goes to the people of Alabama who shared their recipes, their stories and information about their food festivals… always with patience and southern hospitality. It is our sincere wish that you will find a delicious representation of Alabama the Beautiful in this heartfelt journey through the state. And, as always, we give you an armchair traveler’s view of the state while you cook. You will find fun-to-read profiles sprinkled throughout the book about the interesting food festivals you may visit in Alabama. Visit Franklin County – the Watermelon Capital of Alabama – for the Watermelon Festival in Russellville or, if fish and shrimp better suit your taste, don’t miss the Orange Beach Seafood Festival. The Alabama Rural Heritage Foundation and the community of Thomaston, bring us the Pepper Jelly Festival celebrating that region’s favorite food, and the Alabama Blueberry Festival brings people converging on downtown historic Brewton. From Hippy’s Big Butt BBQ Bash to the Poke Salat Festival to the Alabama Butterbean Festival, Alabama offer’s family fun for everyone. Happy Cooking Kent Whitaker & Sheila Simmons But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation. I will sing the Lord’s praise, for he has been good to me. Psalm 13:5-6 (NIV) 8 • Alabama APPETIZERS & BEVERAGES Alabama State Capitol, the First Confederate Capitol, is located in Montgomery on what is affectionately called Goat Hill. Pepper Jelly From Kent: This recipe is from my grandmother’s collection. I tried it using store-bought chopped jalapeños with very good results. I skipped the red pepper, doubled the jalapeños and skipped blender step. ½ cup chopped pickled jalapeño peppers ½ cup chopped seeded sweet red pepper 1 cup cider vinegar, divided 1 (1-ounce) package unflavored gelatin ¼ cup cold water 3 cups sugar Combine jalapeño peppers, red pepper and ¼ cup vinegar in food processor or blender and process until almost a thick liquid. Sprinkle gelatin over cold water in a medium saucepan; let stand 1 minute. Stir over low heat until gelatin is completely dissolved, about 5 minutes. Next, add pepper mixture, remaining vinegar and sugar. Bring to a boil and reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, for about 3 minutes while you stir constantly. Pour into sterilized jars and allow to cool slightly before covering and storing in the refrigerator. Harriett Campbell, Wylam Pepper Jelly Spread 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened 1 (7.33-ounce) box Lance Captain Wafers ½ teaspoon honey, optional 1 (4-ounce) jar Mama Nem’s Pepper Jelly Spread cream cheese on Captain Wafer, spoon pepper jelly on top and enjoy. (If desired, add honey to cream cheese and whip before spreading on cracker.) Alabama Rural Heritage Foundation, Thomaston 10 • Appetizers & Beverages Pepper Jelly Cheese Dip 2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese 2 tablespoons minced green onion 2 cups chopped pecans ½ cup mayonnaise 1 (4-ounce) Mama Nem’s Pepper Jelly Mix first 4 ingredients in a large bowl until blended. Press mixture into a shallow dish lined with plastic wrap; chill until firm. Unmold onto plate and top with pepper jelly. Serve with wheat crackers. Alabama Rural Heritage Foundation Pepper Jelly Festival Thomaston • Last Saturday in April The west Alabama rural town of Thomaston, a community of less than 400 people, is tucked away in the heart of the traditional Black Belt region of the Deep South. Known for its fertile, rich, dark soil, the Black Belt provides our local Deep South Food Alliance farmers with the finest quality produce, including the peppers often used to make Mama Nem’s Pepper Jelly, a famous regional delight. The delicious pepper jelly has become one the region’s favorite foods, so much so, that in recognition, an annual celebration is held the last Saturday in every April, known as the Pepper Jelly Festival. The community of Thomaston, through the Alabama Rural Heritage Foundation, sponsors the event. The festival promises a combination of the best in music, delicious food, including good ole’ Thomaston barbecue, unique crafts created by the best of vendors and other outdoor activities.