Tag: Southern Cooking

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Purple-icious Coleslaw

If you’ve been looking for an excuse to buy a food processor, this is just the ticket. However, if you insist on doing this by hand, you might want to keep the band-aids handy as it will require a LOT of grating and chopping. This coleslaw has all of the cabbage (and more) of a traditional recipe, with a sweet, tangy dressing that even people who don’t like coleslaw will enjoy.

Ingredients

  • 1/2 Large Head of Green Cabbage
  • 1/4 Large Head of Red Cabbage (Who are we kidding? It’s purple!)
  • 4 Large Carrots
  • 1/2 inch Center Slice of a Large Onion
  • 1/3 cup White Sugar
  • 1/2 tsp. Salt
  • 1/4 tsp. Ground Black Pepper
  • 1/4 cup Whole Milk
  • 1/2 cup Mayonnaise
  • 1/4 cup Buttermilk
  • 1 1/2 tbsp. White Wine Vinegar
  • 2 1/2 tbsp. Lemon Juice

Directions

  1. Slice the Green Cabbage and Red Cabbage into sections suitable for your food processor, removing the toughest part of the center cores and stems.
  2. Run the Onion, Green Cabbage, Red Cabbage, and Carrots through the food processor using the grater attachment. (If you have a small food processor, you can do this in several batches.)
  3. Transfer vegetable mixture to a large bowl, and mix until all vegetables are distributed evenly.
  4. In a separate bowl, combine sugar, salt, ground black pepper, milk, mayonnaise, buttermilk, white wine vinegar, and lemon juice, and whisk together until thoroughly combined.
  5. Pour over vegetable mixture and mix until all vegetables are well coated.
  6. Cover and refrigerate at least one hour or overnight. The dressing will soak into the vegetables and will turn purple from the cabbage, too!
  7. Toss to ensure even distribution of the dressing before serving.

Sneaky Trick: If you want a finer texture for your slaw, chop everything in the food processor a second time using the chopping blade after grating. If you want a chunkier texture, use the slicer attachment instead of the grater attachment. The world is your oyster when you have a food processor!

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Dadgum Biscuits & Gravy

I spent a few years in Texas, and this dish is something that everyone is required to learn to make before they’ll issue you a Concealed Handgun License. These biscuits are freakin’ fantastic, and my gravy has a not-so-traditional twist or two that gives it a lot of savory flavor. Y’all are fixin’ to be full as a tick!

THE BISCUITS

This makes about six biscuits, so double the recipe if you’re hungry enough to eat the south end of a northbound mule.

Ingredients

  • 2 cups All-Purpose Flour
  • 1 tablespoon Baking Powder
  • 1 teaspoon Salt
  • 1 tablespoon White Sugar
  • 1/3 cup Shortening
  • 1 cup Milk

Directions

    1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
    2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar.
    3. Cut in the shortening until the mixture resembles coarse meal.
    4. Gradually stir in milk until dough pulls away from the side of the bowl.
    5. Turn out onto a floured surface, and knead.
    6. Roll dough out to 1/2 inch thick. Dust with flour and fold twice.
    7. Roll dough out to 1/2 inch thick. Dust with flour and fold twice.
    8. Roll dough out to 1/2 inch thick. Dust with flour and fold twice.
    9. Roll dough out to 1/2 inch thick. Dust with flour and fold twice.
    10. Roll dough out to 1/2 inch thick. Dust with flour and fold twice.
    11. Roll dough out to 1/2 inch thick. Dust with flour and fold twice.
    12. Roll dough out to a full inch thick. (Aren’t you glad I didn’t say, “Dust with flour and fold twice.” again?)
    13. Cut biscuits from rolled dough with a pint glass dipped in flour.
    14. Repeat until all dough is used.
    15. Place biscuits onto a foil-lined baking sheet very lightly sprayed with cooking spray.  (You can omit the cooking spray if you’re feeling lucky, but why risk it?)
    16. Bake for 12 to 14 minutes, until edges begin to brown.
    17. Remove from oven and set aside.

 

THE GRAVY

Ingredients

  • 2 tbsp.  Cooking Oil
  • 3/4 cup Chopped Onion
  • 1 lb. Ground Beef
  • 1 tsp. Garlic Powder
  • 2 tbsp. All-Purpose Flour
  • 2 cups Whole Milk
  • Salt & Pepper to taste

Directions

  1. Heat cooking oil in large skillet over medium-high heat.
  2. Add chopped onion and cook until slightly soft, just a minute or two.
  3. Add ground beef and cook until JUST brown, when the last bit of pink has barely disappeared.
  4. Do NOT drain fat from the ground beef mixture.
  5. Add garlic powder and flour and mix until all meat is well coated.
  6. Add milk and cook and stir until thick and bubbly.
  7. If gravy is too thick, add a little more milk until it’s just right.  (Keep in mind, this is no wimpy, runny gravy!)
  8. Season with salt & pepper to taste.
  9. Split biscuits in half lengthwise on a plate and smother with gravy.
  10. Say, “Gadgum!” when you taste them!
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