Part 1 (1/2)

The Lady & Sons Savannah Country Cookbook.

by Paula H. Deen.

INTRODUCTION BY.

John Berendt

AUTHOR OF Midnight in the Garden of Good and EvilFriends planning a trip to Savannah usually ask me for travel tips, and I'm always happy to oblige. Naturally, I suggest a walk through the city's twenty-two sumptuous garden squares and a visit to a few of the museum houses. I tell them not to leave Savannah without taking a short excursion to Bonaventure Cemetery, surely one of the most peaceful sanctuaries on earth, with its avenues of live oaks hung with Spanish moss and its romantic statuary set among flowering shrubs and gentle breezes from the meandering inland waterway.Then I tell them about food.I tick off a few of my favorite Savannah eating establishments: Williams Seafood, where locals line up for shrimp, oysters, and crabs that are hauled off fis.h.i.+ng boats at a dock a mere stone's throw from the table; Johnny Harris, a tradition for special family occasions since the twenties and known for its barbecued lamb sandwiches; Mrs. Wilkes's, one of America's true culinary landmarks, which lists itself in the phone book simply as ”Wilkes L H Mrs, 107 W Jones St,” and where lunch is still served at big tables for ten in the old boardinghouse style.I also tell Savannah-bound friends that if they want a short course in the meaning of Southern cooking-the flavors, the ambience, indeed the very heart heart of Southern cooking-they should drop in at the Lady & Sons. The Lady is a hugely popular downtown eatery that serves the whole gamut of Southern dishes and starts serving you steaming, fresh-out-of-the-oven cheese biscuits while you're waiting on line for a table and then keeps a steady flow coming to you all during your meal. of Southern cooking-they should drop in at the Lady & Sons. The Lady is a hugely popular downtown eatery that serves the whole gamut of Southern dishes and starts serving you steaming, fresh-out-of-the-oven cheese biscuits while you're waiting on line for a table and then keeps a steady flow coming to you all during your meal.Paula Deen is the gentle force behind the restaurant and the cookbook you now hold in your hands. Lucky you.Southern cooking is a hand-me-down art, and that's how Paula Deen came into it. Her grandfather drove a dry-cleaning truck, but he knew all along he had a jewel in Paula's grandmother, because she was a fantastic cook. So he bought her a hot-dog stand in Hapeville, Georgia, in the early forties, and put her to work, with Paula's mother waiting on tables. They did so well they moved up to country steak and creamed potatoes. ”The reason I can remember they served steak,” says Paula, ”is because one day a customer got fresh with my mother, and she slapped him with a piece of steak.”Paula spent whole days in the kitchen with her grandmother, learning the techniques as well as the intention of Southern food. ”You have to understand,” she says, ”Southern cooking comes from within. We show our love for someone through the kitchen, through food. We bake a pie or a cake as a welcoming gift or as a show of support in tough times. Southern cooking is comfort food. It's flavorful and filling, and it makes you feel good.”Authentic Southern food is not about pretension. ”It does not require a sophisticated palate,” says Paula. ”It's poor-man's food. Kids don't have to acquire a taste for it. They love it from the start.”And Southern food is distinctly Southern. ”Nothing's flown in,” she says. ”It's all home-grown. There's no quail, no pheasant, no filet mignon, no foie gras, no truffles, no snails, no caviar, and no crepes. Southern dishes do not require split-second timing. They do not 'fall' in the oven. We don't go in for ornate presentation, either, or sculpted desserts. We just heap food on the plate.”Paula knows that some aspects of Southern cooking are disdained by outsiders. ”There are some things we do that would make a French chef sick,” she says. ”Like, for instance, the way we make redeye gravy-country ham cooked in a skillet with water and strong coffee. But let the French chef taste it, and he'll get over being sick real quick!”Southern cooks are proud of their cuisine, and they are not hesitant to tell you that, stacked up against any other cookery, it comes out on top. As Paula says, with a wink to me, ”I've never heard anybody say, 'Gee, golly, I can't wait to get up to New York so I can have some of that good Yankee food.' ”The staples of cla.s.sic Southern food, as laid out in this book, are b.u.t.ter, sugar, salt, pepper, hot sauce, vinegar, ham hocks, and, to lay it on the line: fat. ”We can make concessions for the health-conscious,” says Paula, ”by doing things like using smoked turkey wings instead of ham hocks. But a better approach for weight watchers is to look at Southern food as a treat and just go with it.”Southern food is tied in with the Southern experience, which is a heady combination of good times and bad. Paula has had her share of both. She lived the life of a Southern princess for her first nineteen years- happy, pampered, and carefree. Then her father dropped dead, and four years later her mother died of a broken heart and bone cancer. Paula had to go to work. She was head teller at a bank for a while until a bank robber put a gun to her head and she decided she wasn't cut out for banking.With her marriage coming to an end and creditors closing in some years ago, Paula got into what she knew best: cooking. She took two hundred dollars and opened a service with her two sons and their girlfriends, wheeling hot lunches through office buildings in downtown Savannah. They called it the Bag Lady. Paula got up every morning at five o'clock and made 250 meals in her own kitchen-grilled chicken, lasagna, trio sandwiches, and custards, banana pudding, and fruit salad for dessert. ”If the business hadn't made it, I was looking the Salvation Army square in the face,” she says. But it did make it, and Paula's customers insisted she open a restaurant, which she did.”The day we opened,” she recalls, ”I was overdrawn at two banks, not just one. I didn't even have enough money for the parking meter. My banker called, and I said to him, 'Just let me open my doors.' He did, and the people came flooding in.”And they still do. Businessmen, housewives, lawyers, students, tourists, and celebrities. The mayor is a regular customer. Paula has had to extend her hours to accommodate all the business.Ms. Deen is an irresistible example of that extraordinary phenomenon of Southern womanhood, the steel magnolia. She is always appealing and gracious but possessed of an unfailing survival instinct-a necessary character trait for a Southern cook to make it.And make it, she has. If you go to Savannah, you can understand the reason for it by sampling her famous cheese biscuits, her hoe cakes, her sensational gooey b.u.t.ter cakes, and all the rest. However, if you can't wait till then, you don't have to. Just follow the Lady's instructions on the following pages and you'll know soon enough what all the fuss is about.JOHN B BERENDT New York January 1998

Appetizers HOT APPETIZERS.

Pecan-Stuffed ”Dates Georgia Sugared Peanuts Hot Asparagus ”Dip Hot Crab Canape Mini Onion Quiches Sausage b.a.l.l.s Cheese-Stuffed Mushrooms Sesame Chicken Strips Oysters in the Patty Sh.e.l.l Brie en Croute #1 Brie en Croute #2 South of the Border Mason-Dixon ”Dip Bacon Wraps Artichoke and Spinach ”Dip COLD APPETIZERS.

Shrimp b.u.t.ter Italian Roasted Red Peppers Southwestern ”Dip Pickled Okra Sandwiches Herbed Cream Cheese Round Quick Guacamole-Spinach ”Dip Garlic Cheese Spread Creamy Roquefort ”Dip Strawberry Cheese Ring 'Black Bean Salsa Bobby's Pimento Cheese Pecan-Stuffed Dates YIELDS APPROXIMATELY 30.

One 8-ounce box pitted dates 30 pecan halves 10 to 12 slices bacon 10 to 12 slices bacon

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Stuff each date with a pecan half. Cut each slice of bacon into 3 pieces. Wrap 1 piece around each stuffed date and secure with a toothpick. Bake until bacon is crisp, 12 to 15 minutes. Drain and serve.

Georgia Sugared 'Peanuts YIELDS 2 CUPS.

1 cup sugar 2 cups raw sh.e.l.led peanuts, skins on 2 cups raw sh.e.l.led peanuts, skins on cup water teaspoon salt teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Dissolve sugar and salt in water in saucepan over medium heat. Add peanuts. Continue to cook, stirring frequently, until peanuts are completely sugared (coated and no syrup left). Pour onto ungreased cookie sheet, spreading so that peanuts are separated as much as possible. Bake for approximately 30 minutes, stirring at 5-minute intervals. Let cool and serve.

Hot Asparagus Dip YIELDS 3 TO 4 CUPS.

Two 12-ounce cans asparagus 2 cloves garlic, chopped 2 cloves garlic, chopped spears Salt and pepper to taste Salt and pepper to taste 1 cups mayonnaise 1 cups freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus additional for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Drain and chop asparagus. Add to remaining ingredients and mix; pour into baking dish. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until slightly brown and bubbly. Remove from oven and sprinkle with additional Parmesan cheese. Serve hot with lightly toasted French bread rounds.

Hot Crab Canape SERVES 6 TO 8.

One 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened 8 ounces crabmeat, picked free of sh.e.l.l 8 ounces crabmeat, picked free of sh.e.l.l 1 tablespoon milk 2 tablespoons chopped onion 2 tablespoons chopped onion cup mayonnaise teaspoon garlic salt teaspoon garlic salt 1 teaspoons horseradish

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. With an electric mixer, mix all ingredients in a bowl. Place mixture in a shallow ovenproof ca.s.serole dish. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or microwave until warm (2 to 3 minutes). Serve with crackers. This may be frozen for future use.

Mini Onion Quiches YIELDS 2 DOZEN.

cup crushed saltine crackers 2 eggs 2 eggs 4 tablespoons ( stick) b.u.t.ter, 1 cup milk 1 cup milk melted teaspoon salt teaspoon salt 1 cup chopped green onion with teaspoon pepper teaspoon pepper tops 1 cup grated Swiss cheese 1 cup grated Swiss cheese 2 tablespoons b.u.t.ter

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Combine cracker crumbs and melted b.u.t.ter. Divide crumbs among mini m.u.f.fin tins that have been sprayed with no-stick cooking spray. Saute onion for 10 minutes in 2 tablespoons b.u.t.ter. Cool, then divide evenly on top of cracker crumbs. Beat eggs; add milk, salt, pepper, and Swiss cheese. Pour by spoonfuls on top of onion in tins. Do not fill to top, as they will run over. Bake until set, about 15 to 20 minutes. Do not overbake. May be stored in refrigerator or freezer. Warm in oven before serving.

Sausage b.a.l.l.s YIELDS APPROXIMATELY 3 DOZEN.

3 cups Bisquick 2 cups grated Cheddar cheese 1 pound fresh ground sausage (hot or mild) 1 pound fresh ground sausage (hot or mild)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients together. If not moist enough, add a little water. Form mixture into 1-inch b.a.l.l.s. Bake for 15 minutes. Drain on paper towels. Serve warm. This freezes well before or after baking.

Cheese-Stuffed Mushrooms YIELDS 2 DOZEN.