Sunday Dinner

2 to 3 lbs. beef eye of round
1/8 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. black pepper
4 to 6 medium potatoes, halved
3 ribs celery, cut in large pieces
3 c. baby carrots or carrots cut in chunks
1 c. brewed black coffee
2 T. cornstarch

Salt and pepper roast and place in a Dutch oven. Pour coffee over the roast. Place potatoes, carrots, and celery around the beef roast. Cover and simmer for 2 hours, or until meat is tender. Remove roast and vegetables.

Place broth in freezer for several minutes, until fat rises to top. Skim off fat then stir cornstarch into the broth. Add meat back to broth and heat thoroughly. Serves 8.

Sunday Roast Chicken

1 fresh Roaster chicken
2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 lemon, quartered
8 cloves garlic, peeled & smashed with side of knife
3 sprigs fresh rosemary, optional
1-1/2 lbs. red potatoes, scrubbed & cut into 1-inch chunks
4 T. butter, melted

Preheat oven to 400°. Wash hands. Remove chicken giblets and neck. (Discard or save for later use.) Sprinkle chicken with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Place chicken in large, oiled roasting pan. Stuff lemon, garlic and rosemary into chicken cavity. Wash hands.

Surround chicken with potatoes; sprinkle with remaining salt and pepper. Baste chicken and potatoes with butter.

Roast chicken, basting with pan juices, 1 1/2 hours or until done (internal temp 180°F). Transfer chicken and potatoes to serving platter; discard lemon and rosemary. Skim fat from pan juices; mash in garlic.

Serving Suggestion: Serve chicken with pan juices. Refrigerate leftovers.

Tip: Boil the giblets and chicken neck with water, salt, pepper, onion, carrot and celery to make chicken broth, which can be used for gravy or frozen for later use.

Lexington-Style Grilled Chicken

2 c. cider vinegar
1/4 c. firmly packed dark brown sugar
1/4 c. vegetable oil
3 T. dried crushed red pepper
4 tsp. salt
2 tsp. pepper
2 (2 1/2- to 3-pound) cut-up whole chickens*

Stir together first 6 ingredients until blended.

Place half each of vinegar mixture and chicken in a large zip-top plastic freezer bag; seal. Repeat procedure with remaining vinegar mixture and chicken, placing in a separate zip-top plastic freezer bag. Chill chicken at least 2 hours or up to 8 hours, turning occasionally.

Remove chicken from marinade, discarding marinade.

Grill chicken, covered with grill lid, over medium-high heat (350° to 400°) 35 to 40 minutes or until done, turning occasionally. Yield: 8 to 10 servings.

*8 skinned and boned chicken breast halves and 8 skinned and boned chicken thighs may be substituted for whole chickens. Chill in marinade at least 1 to 2 hours, turning occasionally. Grill chicken, covered with grill lid, over medium-high heat (350° to 400°) 4 to 5 minutes on each side or until done.

Down-Home Southern Fried Chicken

1 whole chicken, cut up
1 T. garlic powder
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. black pepper
Buttermilk, about 1 c. (or heavy cream or half and half)
Lard, for frying (about 1-2 cups, or vegetable shortening)
3 tablespoons bacon grease, for frying (important for flavor)
Flour, for dredging

Place cut up chicken in a large bowl. Season with garlic powder, salt and black pepper. Toss to coat. Add buttermilk, again tossing to coat. Set aside.

Place lard and bacon grease into a large deep cast-iron skillet or dutch oven. Set on stovetop over medium-high heat.

Place flour into a plastic grocery bag. Shake excess buttermilk from a piece of chicken and place into bag of flour. Coat chicken with flour.

Dip an edge of the floured piece into the lard; if it sizzles, it's ready.

Begin to flour remaining pieces and carefully place them into the pan/dutch oven. Repeat until the pan is full or all peices are used. (A whole chicken generally requires two batches and you may need to add just a small amount more of lard for second batch).

Cover pot with lid and simmer for 5-7 minutes. Turn chicken over, cover and simmer again for 5-7 minutes.

Remove lid and continue cooking until cooked through, or internal temperature of chicken reaches 175°. Transfer cooked peices to a plate lined with paper towels. If desired, immidiately give a light sprinkling of salt.

Sunday Best Roast Beef with Pan Gravy

1 (4- to 5-lb.) boneless rump roast
2 T. Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. granulated garlic
1 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. paprika
1 T. coarse-ground black pepper
2 tsp. coarse salt

Adjust the rack to the bottom of the oven and preheat to 450°.

Blot any excess moisture from the roast using paper towels. Rub the Worcestershire sauce over the entire roast; allow the roast to sit for a few minutes, turning it several times so that the meat can absorb the Worcestershire.

Combine the granulated garlic, onion powder, paprika and coarse-ground pepper in a small bowl; sprinkle the seasoning mixture evenly over the roast, pressing it into the fat and meat just enough to stick. Allow the seasoned roast to stand at room temperature for 20 to 30 minutes before roasting.

Rub the roast with the coarse salt and place it fat side up in a shallow roasting pan. Roast for 15 minutes, then lower the oven temperature to 325° F. Continue to cook until the internal temperature reaches 5 to 10 degrees below the desired serving temperature, about 2 hours. (Note: Allow about 20 minutes per pound for medium-rare.) When the roast is done, carefully remove the pan from the oven and transfer the roast to a clean cutting board. Allow the roast to stand for 20 minutes before slicing.

Pan Gravy:

3 T. all-purpose flour
2 c. beef broth
Salt and pepper to taste

Make the Gravy:

Use a spoon to skim all the fat from the liquid that remains in the roasting pan. Reserve about 4 tablespoons of fat in a small mixing bowl and cool until it is just barely warm, 4 to 5 minutes. Whisk the flour into the fat to form a roux. Scrape the drippings from the bottom of the pan, add in the beef broth and stir over medium heat until the broth begins to simmer. Whisk in the roux and bring to a boil, then simmer for 4 to 5 minutes. Add a little water, a tablespoon at a time, as needed to achieve the desired consistency. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Present the Roast:

Use a sharp carving knife to cut thin slices against the grain. Arrange the slices on a decorative platter and pour the irresistible juices left on the cutting board over the meat. Pass the gravy alongside in a gravy boat. serves 8.

Sunday Dinner Steaks

6 cubes steaks
1 envelope onion soup mix
1 can mushrooms with liquid
1 medium onion, chopped
1 can beef gravy
1 gravy can of water

Dredge steaks in flour and brown quickly in oil. Place browned steaks in 9x13 pan. Mix rest of ingredients and pour over steaks. Cover with foil and bake at 325 degrees for 1 1/2 hours. When done, thicken gravy if necessary. Serve with mashed potatoes. You can also make this without browning the steaks.

Parmesan Potatoes

1/2 c. grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 c. all-purpose flour
salt and pepper to taste
10 potatoes, peeled and cubed
1/2 c. butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350°. In a bag combine Parmesan cheese, flour, salt and pepper; mix well. Place potatoes in bag and shake to coat. Pour butter into a 9x13-inch baking dish. Stir in potatoes.

Bake in preheated oven for 1-1/2 hours, stirring occasionally.

Sunday Mashed Potatoes

5 lbs. potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 c. (8 oz) sour cream
2 pkgs. (3 oz each) cream cheese, softened
3 T. butter or margarine, divided
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. onion salt
1/4 tsp. pepper

Place potatoes in a Dutch oven; cover with water. Cover and bring to a boil. Cook for 20-25 minutes or until very tender; drain well.

In a large mixing bowl, mash potatoes. Add sour cream, cream cheese, 2 tablespoons butter, salt, onion salt and pepper; beat until fluffy. Transfer to a greased 2-qt. baking dish. Dot with the remaining butter. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 20-25 minutes or until heated through. Yield: 8 servings.

Garlic Mashed Potatoes

3 lbs red potato, cleaned and quartered
1 small onion, chopped
3 c. water
2 tsp. salt
1 c. heavy cream
5 garlic clove, roasted (recipe follows)
1/2 tsp. white pepper
2 T. butter

Combine potatoes, onion, and water and 1/2 teaspoon of the salt in a medium saucepan; bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-high and cook until tender, about 10 minutes.

Drain potatoes and chopped onion in a colander and return them to pan. Place saucepan back over medium heat, add cream, roasted garlic, the remaining 1-1/2 teaspoons salt and white pepper and mash vigorously with a potato masher until fairly smooth, about 4 minutes. Beat in butter before serving.

TO ROAST GARLIC:

Place 2 bulbs garlic in center of aluminum foil sheet, drizzle with 1 teaspoon olive oil and sprinkle with 2 teaspoons salt and pepper.

Fold edges of foil together to form a bag. Roast in 400° oven until garlic is tender, about 40 minutes. Allow garlic to cool. slip off skins. This will yeild 2 bulbs. save extra for another use.

Southern-Style Green Beans

2 qts. water
4 lbs. fresh green beans, trimmed & snapped into 1-1/2 inch pieces
1 ham hock
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/4 c. distilled white vinegar
1 T. salt
1/2 T. black pepper

Place the water in a large pot, and mix in the green beans, ham hock, onion, garlic, and vinegar. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, and cook 10 minutes.

Reduce heat to low, and simmer 4 hours. Remove the ham hock, and slice the meat into small pieces. Return meat to the beans, and serve. Makes 8 servings.

Corn Pudding

1 can cream corn
1 can kernel corn
1 box corn bread mix
1/2 stick melted butter
1 c. sour cream
1 c. grated cheddar

Combine all ingredients. Put in greased 9-inch casserole. Bake at 350° for 40 minutes.

Remove. Add grated cheese bake another 5 minutes.

Creamy Potato Salad

6 medium potato (2 pounds)
1/2 lb bacon (prepared as directed below)
1 c. thinly sliced celery
1/2 c. finely chopped red onion
1/3 c. sweet pickle relish
1-1/4 c. mayonnaise or salad dressing
2 tsp. sugar
2 tsp. celery seed
2 tsp. apple cider vinegar
2 tsp. prepared mustard
1-1/2 tsp. salt
2 hard-boiled egg, coarsely chopped

Cook potatoes in boiling, salted water until tender. Drain well. Peel and cube potatoes. Transfer to a large bowl.

Add celery, onion, sweet relish and bacon bits. Combine mayo, sugar, celery seed, vinegar, mustard, and salt. Add mayo mixture to potatoes. Toss lightly to coat potato mixture. Carefully fold in the chopped eggs. Cover and chill thoroughly.

Bacon bit tip: Partially freeze your package of bacon. Use a sharp knife and cut the frozen bacon into long strips about 1/4 inch wide. Turn the bacon and cut the strips into pieces also about 1/4 in wide. You now have perfect raw bacon pieces to fast fry. No need to separate. They will separate during cooking. Perfect bacon bits.

Macaroni Salad

Dressing:

1 c. mayonnaise
2 T. vinegar
1 T. mustard
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper

1/2 lb macaroni, cooked and drained
1 c. sliced celery
1/2 c. chopped green pepper
1/2 c. chopped red pepper
1/2 c. chopped green onion

Combine dressing ingredients. Stir into remaining ingredients. Cover and chill.

Amish Macaroni Salad

SALAD:

1 lb macaroni (or small shells)
1/2 c. finely chopped celery
1/2 c. finely grated carrot
1/4 c. finely chopped onion
1/4 c. chopped green pepper (optional)
6 hard-boiled egg (reserve 1 to slice for garnish, and chop the remaining 5)
Paprika, for garnish

DRESSING:

2 c.s Miracle Whip
1/4 c. vinegar
3/4 c. sugar
2 T. prepared mustard

Cook macaroni as directed on package; Drain& cool.

In a bowl, whisk together the dressing ingredients so they are well-combined and smooth.

In a large bowl, gently combine the macaroni, celery, carrots, onions, and remaining eggs. Fold the dressing gently into the macaroni salad mixture. Place into your serving bowl and garnish with the reserved slice egg and paprika. Let sit overnight for the best results.

Deviled Eggs

6 large hard-boiled egg
Salt and black pepper
2 T. Miracle Whip
1 tsp. prepared yellow mustard
2 T. sweet pickle relish
Salt & Pepper
Paprika

Peel shells off cooled hard-boiled eggs and slice into halves lengthwise. Remove yolks from whites and put into small round bowl and mash yolks with a fork into fine pieces.

Add 2 heaping T. Miracle Whip, 1 tsp yellow mustard, 2 T sweet pickle relish and salt & black pepper to taste. Stir mixture until creamy.

Spoon mixture into a zip-locked sandwich bag, seal bag and snip off one corner of bag. Squeeze mixture out of corner of bag into white egg halves. Sprinkle tops of filled deviled eggs with paprika. Chill in refrigerator 1-2 hours or until cold before serving.

Popovers

(There are 3 secrets to great popovers: Make sure the pan is hot before you pour in the batter, fill each section not more than half full, and no peeking while they're in the oven!)

1-1/2 T. unsalted butter, melted
Softened butter for greasing pans
1-1/2 c. flour
3/4 tsp. kosher salt
3 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
1-1/2 c. milk, at room temperature

Preheat the oven to 425°. Generously grease aluminum popover pans or Pyrex custard cups with softened butter. You’ll need enough pans to make 12 popovers. Place the pans in the oven for exactly 2 minutes to preheat. Meanwhile, whisk together the flour, salt, eggs, milk, and melted butter until smooth. The batter will be thin. Fill the popover pans less than half full and bake for exactly 30 minutes. Do not peek. Makes 12 popovers.

Banana Cream Pie

1 (9-inch) pie shell, baked
3 c. whole milk
3/4 c. white sugar
1/3 c. flour
1/4 tsp. salt
3 egg yolk, slightly beaten
2 T. butter
1 tsp. vanilla
3 bananas

In a large saucepan, scald the milk. In another saucepan, combine the sugar, flour and salt; gradually stir in the scalded milk. Over medium heat, stirring constantly, cook until thickened. Cover and, stirring occasionally, cook for two minutes longer.

In a small bowl, have the 3 egg yolks, slightly beaten, ready; stir a small amount of the hot mixture into beaten yolks; when thoroughly combined, stir yolks into hot mixture. Cook for one minute longer, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and blend in the butter and vanilla. Let sit until lukewarm.

When ready to pour, slice bananas and scatter in pie shell; pour warm mixture over bananas.

If desired, make a meringue (you'll have 3 leftover egg whites) to top the pie, or just let the pie cool until serving.

Ultimate Lemon Meringue Pie

Graham Cracker Pie Shell
1-1/4 c. flour
1 T. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
6 T. unsalted butter, cut into pieces & frozen
4 T. vegetable shortening, frozen
3-5 T. ice water, as needed
1/2 c. graham cracker crumbs

Lemon Filling:

1 c. sugar
1/4 c. cornstarch
1/8 tsp. salt
6 large egg yolk
1 1/2 c. water
1 T. lemon zest
1/2 c. fresh lemon juice
2 T. unsalted butter

Meringue Topping:

1 T. cornstarch
1/3 c. water
1/4 tsp. cream of tartar
1/2 c. sugar
4 large egg whites
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Make pie shell: Mix flour, sugar and salt in a food processor, by pulsing a few times.

Scatter the frozen butter pieces over flour mixture. Pulse in 1-second pulses about 5 times to mix in butter. Add frozen shortening; pulsing in 1-second pulses until mixture resembles cornmeal with pieces about the size of peas.

Slowly add ice water through the processor feed tube, with motor running, T. at a time. When dough forms a ball, stop processing. It should take about 2 or 3 T. of ice water to reach this stage.

Shape dough into a ball in your flour coated hands, and then flatten into a 4-inch wide disk. Flour disk and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes.

Generously coat your work surface or pastry sheet with a little flour and about 1/4 cup graham cracker crumbs.

Place dough on floured surface, coat with some flour and graham cracker crumbs, and roll into a 9-inch disk.

Lift, coat surface with more graham and flour, turn dough, add more graham and flour on top, and roll out to a 13-inch disk. Place into a 9-inch pie pan, and finish edges. Refrigerate crust until firm, about 30 minutes.

Prick dough with a fork to prevent bubbling up in the oven. While the oven is pre-heating to 375°, put pie crust in freezer.

Bake at 375° for 20- 25 minutes, checking occasionally to make sure it's browning evenly and not bubbling up.

Lemon Filling: Whisk sugar, cornstarch, and salt together in a large, nonreactive saucepan.

Add egg yolks, then immediately but gradually whisk in 1-1/2 cups water.

Bring mixture to a simmer over medium heat, whisking regularly, 8 to 10 minutes, until thickened. Remove from heat, whisk in zest, then juice and finally butter. Keep warm until meringue is made.

Meringue topping: Mix cornstarch and 1/3 cup water in a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer, whisking occasionally until thickened. Remove from heat when translucent and thickened.

Preheat oven to 325°. In a large mixing bowl, mix cream of tartar and sugar together.

Beat egg whites with whip attachment of mixer until frothy. Add vanilla. Beat in sugar mixture, 1 tbsp at a time. Then drop in cornstarch mixture, 1 tbsp at a time until stiff peaks form. Pour warm lemon filling into pie crust.

Distribute meringue evenly over the top, starting with the edges, and then the middle. Make sure it attaches to the crust. Lifting with the back of the spoon, create peaks in the meringue. Bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes. Cool completely before serving.

Old-Fashioned Homemade Ice Cream

6 eggs
2 c. sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1 T. vanilla extract
13-oz can evaporated milk (1-1/2 c. plus 2 T.)
1 gallon whole milk
Chipped ice
Rock salt

In a large mixing bowl, beat eggs. Add sugar gradually, stirring constantly. Add salt, vanilla and canned milk. Add about a pint of the fresh milk and mix.

Pour mixture into ice cream freezer can. Add enough of the remainder of the milk to fill can to the middle of the top board of dasher. (If the freezer can has a "fill" line on it, fill no higher than that line.)

Assemble the ice cream freezer. Add alternating layers of chipped ice and rock salt to barrel around freezer can. Crank freezer until ice cream begins to freeze (cranking will become harder as ice cream freezes), adding more ice and salt, as needed. When handle becomes difficult-to-impossible to turn, remove turning mechanism, and carefully remove top from freezer can; remove dasher. Replace top. Cover can with more ice and salt. Cover ice with an old towel, allowing ice cream to "cure" for at least 1 hour. If yours is an electric freezer, follow manufacturer's directions, but the curing step is essential. Makes about 5 quarts of ice cream.

Creamy Citrus Sherbet

2 c. sugar
1-1/2 c. orange juice
5 T. lemon juice
4 c. milk

In a large bowl, combine sugar and juices. Gradually add milk. Pour into a 2- qt. freezer container. Freeze for 2 hour, then stir every 30 minutes until slushy. Freeze overnight. Yield: about 2 quarts. Serves about 16.

Pineapple-Orange Sherbet

3 (12 oz) cans orange soda
2 (8 oz) cans unsweetened crushed pineapple, undrained
1-1/2 c. sugar
1 (12 oz) can fat-free evaporated milk
1/8 tsp. salt

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients. Fill ice cream freezer cylinder two-thirds full; freeze according to manufacturer's directions (refrigerate remaining mixture until ready to freeze). Transfer to a freezer container; allow sherbet to firm up in the refrigerator freezer for 2-4 hours before serving. Yield: about 2 quarts.

Best Southern Sweet Tea

6 regular-size tea bags (Luzianne or Lipton)
1 gallon water, very hot from tap (or you can boil it first)
1-1/2 c. sugar

Hold tea bags lined up evenly by the strings and make a loop knot to hold them together. Pull off paper and staple (from paper side). Set aside.

In a one gallon pitcher, add very hot water. Stir in the sugar till dissolved. Add tea bags and dunk into water a few times, then leave them in the pitcher. Cover with lid of pitcher and refridgerate.

Wait until it is very cold (at least 3-4 hours). The flavor changes until it is very cold. You can leave the bags set in the pitcher, but take them out after about 8 hours --- but it probably won't last that long! I'd suggest making 2 pitchers at a time, especially if you're in the South. ).