Dairy Free

I’m not sure if I ever had a store-bought French fry before high school! Mama made these home fries and served them with fresh-off-the-grill burgers. They’re the perfect side for Herb’s Fried Catfish (page 106) and Mama’s Cornmeal Hushpuppies (page 140).

My daddy loved boiled okra, but it’s too slimy for me. Fried okra, on the other hand, is great with everything!

I serve baked beans with everything from hot dogs to Barbecued Chicken (page 96). They are a great side dish, and the bacon, molasses, and brown sugar in this version make them irresistible.

I make this with our home-canned green beans, but canned green beans from your grocery store cook down nicely with a little help from a ham hock. The recipe says to cook these for 30 minutes. I would really say just to cook them to death, but 30 minutes sounds sweeter.

I could live on collard greens and corn bread! I like collard greens better than turnip greens because I think collards are sweeter. When I make my corn bread and greens bowl (crumbled-up buttermilk corn bread covered with collard greens and a little juice), I add a little hot pepper just for fun. In the South, collard juice, or the cooking liquid that accumulates, is often called pot likker. My daddy always planted a big collard patch every spring, not only for the family but also to share with friends. Through the years, friends knew the patch was just out back of the barn and they were free to drive in and help themselves.

It’s hard for families on the go to eat enough vegetables, so we decided to have one night every week that is only veggies. When we do, I always make this recipe. As the cabbage cooks, it sweetens a bit. I like to let it brown a little in the pan because I like the crispness and the flavor. Try it!

Growing up in a classic meat-and-potatoes family, I can’t remember a meal that didn’t include meat. As an adult, I’ve learned you don’t always have to have meat at dinner. This dish is a perfect choice for a meal that is all veggies and will leave you full and satisfied.

I am allergic to canned spaghetti sauce! Well, maybe not really, but I just can’t eat spaghetti sauce out of a can or jar. This sauce is easy, and it is even better warmed over the next day, after the flavors have had a chance to settle in.

Growing up, I was lucky to have a catfish pond just down the hill on our farm. My daddy had created the pond from a natural spring when I was a little girl and stocked it with catfish and bream. We had many a wonderful fish fry with freshly caught catfish from our pond all through my childhood. Fresh fried fish served with Mama’s Cornmeal Hushpuppies (page 140)—you couldn’t ask for a better meal! My only suggestion is that you let someone else dress the catfish. Yuck!

For some people, it just isn’t Thanksgiving without giblet gravy for the turkey and potatoes. Mom has included directions for a giblet-free version for those of us who have seen a giblet and never want to eat one!

As a young man, my dad worked with the State of Georgia Extension Service, where he learned to barbecue chickens by the hundreds. Over the years, he cooked thousands of chickens that were sold on the town square, at football games, or horse shows. He and his friends would build a huge pit with cement blocks and top them with specially made racks that could hold about 50 chicken halves each. To turn the chickens, another rack was placed on top, and two men, one on each end of the racks, would flip the entire rack at once! My mom has adapted Dad’s recipe to serve a family, not the whole town.

I respect people who won’t share old family recipes, but when I find something good, I want everybody to be able to make it for themselves, and that’s how I feel about my daddy’s barbecue sauce. I truly believe Daddy could have bottled and sold this sauce, it was so popular! It’s a personal preference, but I like a thin, vinegar-based barbecue sauce instead of the thick, ketchup-based sauces.

Even those who say “No!” to sauerkraut will love this specialty dish from family friend Betty Maxwell.

This is the main attraction of our traditional Easter meal, and we think those spiral-sliced prebasted hams take a backseat to our version. Ask your butcher to order a whole smoked water-added ham such as Gwaltney, Hamilton, or Smithfield, and have him remove and quarter the hock. This not only makes the ham fit more easily into your pan but also gives you the hock pieces to use another time and contribute unbeatable seasoning to soups and veggies. Serve with Potato Salad (page 53) and Baby Lima Beans (page 132).

Since moving to Oklahoma, I have noticed that a lot of the barbecue there is made with beef. I started making these Georgia pork ribs a couple of years ago for the Fourth of July, and they quickly became tradition around here. Cut the racks into two-rib portions and serve them with Easy Baked Beans (page 133) and Fourth of July Coleslaw (page 54) for an awesome holiday feast!

I probably make meatloaf once a week, and I’ve developed some pretty strong opinions about what works and what doesn’t. I have sampled meatloaf across the country, and when it’s good, it’s usually because it’s a simple rendition. If I don’t like it, it’s usually because someone tried to get fancy with it and put something in it that didn’t belong there! This is the one I make most often. I prefer to use lean ground beef because it keeps the meatloaf from being too moist. Also, be sure to remove the meatloaf from the pan as soon as it’s done; otherwise, the fat that has rendered into the pan will be absorbed back into the meat—not good!

Browning the almonds in sugar gives a great sweet crunch to this salad. I have to state for the record that this is one of the best salads I’ve ever tasted.

I keep this chicken salad in the refrigerator pretty much year round. It’s easy to make, and it keeps in the fridge for a week. Of course, at my house, it only lasts a few days! I serve this on toasted bread, or with wheat crackers as an appetizer.

I’m not a cooked spinach fan, but I do like spinach served fresh in a salad. (And I love any salad that has bacon as an ingredient!) I’m also not a mushroom gal, so I leave these out when I make it, but it’s good either way.

This unusual take on chicken salad is a meal in itself, with the rice, fruit, and almonds as well as cooked chicken. Just add bread or crackers.