American

Don’t let the lengthy ingredient list scare you away. It’s really not as bad as it looks. Even my brother, Bubba, can make it. On a cold winter’s day it will make your tongue want to slap your brains out! This recipe serves two or three dozen people, but can easily be cut in half. It keeps for up to five days in the refrigerator or two months in the freezer.

The marinade in this recipe also makes a wonderful salad dressing.

Wonderful but very rich, eggnog is best served in small portions. Though good hot or cold, I always serve it hot in the winter. This can be made a day ahead of time and kept in the refrigerator.

Hoppin’ John is the must-have dish for southerners on New Year’s Day; it’s widely believed that if you eat black-eyed peas on that day, you’ll have good luck all year. This a great dish for a crowd and can definitely be prepared ahead of time. Since the black-eyed peas need to soak overnight, start this a day in advance. Serve with my variation on Mr. Beard’s Cream Biscuits (page 54).

For the best grits, choose good stone-ground hominy grits, found mostly at high-end gourmet shops. Good-quality grits can be yellow, white, even blue, and they have a lively, crunchy texture. Just for the record, most regular folks down South use quick grits. And also for the record, that’s what we use at Bubby’s. But at home I cook from a bag of stone-ground hominy grits from Hoppin’ John’s, a small mill in Georgia (www.hoppinjohns.com). The Tabasco in the recipe really adds a zing to the grits, which go especially well with Smithfield Ham with Red-Eye Gravy (page 189).

Smithfield ham is the American answer to prosciutto. To be called a Smithfield ham, the ham must be cured and processed in Smithfield, Virginia. It is aged for twenty-four months and offers a unique taste. (You can buy Smithfield ham online at www.smithfieldhams.com. Order the uncooked bone-in version.) It requires some serious effort to prepare a proper Smithfield ham, but it is very worth it. The instructions are odd, even counterintuitive, but this is the way it is done! Smithfield ham is easiest to prepare when it’s cold enough to leave the ham outside. That means it has to be below 40°F all day and night. Otherwise, you have to refrigerate the ham while soaking it, and unless you have a walk-in refrigerator, it is nearly impossible. When you are ready to prepare the ham, remove it from the bag. Place it in a sink or a very large pot of water and scrub it with steel wool to remove the outside mold and grime. Don’t let the mold (a result of aging) worry you. Once it is scrubbed, place the ham in a pot large enough that it can be covered with plenty of water. The ham needs to soak for three days and the water changed every twelve hours, at least. Now you’re ready to cook the ham. The best way to serve Smithfield ham is with eggs and fresh biscuits.

A chef at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco in the 1920s is said to have created this to honor George Arliss, an actor appearing there in a play entitled The Green Goddess. The dressing is made with an abundance of herbs and can be served with fish or shellfish as well as salads. Be sure to use fresh herbs: Dried just don’t deliver the same flavor. For this salad to look its best, place it in a bowl that’s twice the size of the greens so you’ll have plenty of room to toss.

Cobb Salad was born in the 1920s at Hollywood’s Brown Derby restaurant, where a restaurant manager by the name of Bob Cobb created it as a way to recycle leftovers. The classic vinaigrette dressing really makes this salad, which traditionally contains finely chopped chicken, bacon, hard-boiled eggs, cheese, and lettuce. All the ingredients are chopped and arranged to give a colorful presentation. I like the chicken when it’s grilled because it adds a smoky flavor and a pleasing crunchiness. If you prefer, you can also sear the chicken over high heat. Store Cobb dressing in the refrigerator and use leftovers within several days.

This dish can be served as a sandwich filling or as a stand-alone salad accompanied by favorite lettuces and veggies. We use canned tuna packed in spring water because it’s lighter than tuna packed in oil, and we make sure the apple is tart and crisp. Granny Smith apples are fine, but also Mutsu, Honeycrisp, or any good local crispy, tart apple will do. Add half the dressing at first and see if you need more—it’s up to you how well coated you want the tuna and apples to be.

This classic sandwich relies on good ripe tomatoes, thickly sliced bacon, and top-quality crusty bread. Although you might normally shun iceberg lettuce, this is one instance where its crunchiness is welcome. Feel free, of course, to substitute another lettuce such as romaine.

Johnnycakes, believed to be the precursor of the pancake, date back to the 1700s and are typically made with cornmeal and either water or milk. Though they used to be fairly flat griddle cakes, our johnnycakes contain eggs, butter, and leavening, so they taste somewhat like a cross between pancakes and corn bread. Adding blueberries makes them even better.

A generous measure of blueberries—two full cups—ensures a juicy mouthful of berries with every bite. Use fresh berries when they are in season, or frozen if fresh seasonal berries are unavailable. There is no need to thaw frozen berries before using them. You can keep the cooked pancakes, loosely covered with a clean kitchen towel, for 15 minutes in a 200°F oven. Serve with Roasted Asparagus and Leek Frittata (page 96).