Six Southern Specialties: Recipes Tried and True

Southern folks have always had a hankering for mighty good food. We were raised with second helpings, gravy on everything, and the thought that a plate left with food on it was a slight against the cook. Below are six tried and true southern recipes for you to try in your own kitchen. Just remember to leave room for seconds!

Apple Brown Betty
1 cup dried breadcrumbs
�¼ cup melted butter
2 �½ cup apples, peeled and sliced
�¾ cup brown sugar, packed
1 teaspoon cinnamon
�¼ teaspoon nutmeg
�¼ teaspoon cloves
�½ teaspoon grated lemon rind
�¼ cup water
juice of �½ lemon
1 teaspoon vanilla
�½ cup raisins
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine the breadcrumbs and
melted butter. Put 1/3 of mix in 8-inch baking dish. Cover with
a layer of �½ of the apples. Stir together the brown sugar,
cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and lemon rind. Sprinkle about half
of this sugar mixture over the apple mix in the baking dish.
Mix together the water, lemon juice, and vanilla and sprinkle
half this on top of the sugar layer. Reserve the remaining lemon
juice and water. Add another layer of crumbs, then the raisins.
Cover with the remaining apples, sprinkle with the remaining
sugar mix, and then lemon juice and water. Place the last third
of the crumb mix on top. Cover the dish and bake about 40
minutes. Remove cover and raise heat to 400 degrees and let
top brown for 15 minutes.

Georgia Apple Mystery Dessert
1 (20 ounce) can crushed pineapple
3 cups sliced Georgia baking apples
�½ cup sugar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 (18 �¼ ounce) box of yellow cake mix
�½ cup melted butter
1 cup chopped Georgia pecans

Pour pineapple into a greased 13 x 9 x 2 inch pan. In a separate container mix apples, �¼ cup sugar, and lemon juice and place on top of pineapple. Sprinkle with dry cake mix and top with melted butter, �¼ cup sugar and pecans. Bake in a preheated 350degree oven 20 minutes. Poke with knife to let juices rise to top and bake an additional 30 minutes.
12 servings.

Southern Fried Dill Pickles
1 cup cornmeal
2 eggs beaten
2 �¼ cups flour
1 cup milk
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
�½ teaspoon Tabasco sauce
1 teaspoon salt
�¾ teaspoon pepper
�¼ teaspoon Mrs. Dash seasoning
�¼ teaspoon garlic powder
�¾ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 quart sliced dill pickles
vegetable oil
salt and pepper
Combine 2 eggs, �¼ cup flour, milk, Worcestershire sauce,
Tabasco sauce, cayenne pepper, Mrs. Dash, and garlic powder;
stirring well. Set aside. Combine cornmeal, 2 cups flour, salt
and pepper; mix well. Dip drained pickles into milk mixture
and dredge in flour mixture. Deep fry at 350 degrees until golden
brown. Drain. Salt and pepper to taste. Also works great with
pepperoncinis.

Peach Bread
1 �½ cups sugar
�½ cup shortening
2 eggs
2 �¼ cups pureed fresh peaches (6-8)
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
�¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup finely chopped pecans
Cream sugar and shortening together. Add eggs and mix
thoroughly. Add peach puree and dry ingredients. Mix
thoroughly. Add vanilla and chopped pecans and stir until
blended. Pour into two loaf pans that have been well-greased
and floured. Bake at 325 degrees for an hour. Cool for a few
minutes, then remove from pan. Makes two 9-inch loaves.

Fritters
1 �¾ cup all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
�½ teaspoons salt
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 cup milk
1 tablespoon melted shortening
2 cups whole kernel corn
oil for frying
Combine all of the ingredients except the corn, blending
until smooth. Fold in the corn. In a large skillet, heat the oil,
and drop the batter by the tablespoon into very hot grease. Fry
until browned on both sides, serves 6.

Pecan Pralines
3 cans evaporated milk
�½ lb butter
8 cups sugar
8 cups shelled pecans
a cup vanilla
Combine butter, milk, and sugar in a saucepan. Add vanilla.
Cook on high heat to a rolling boil. Lower temperature to
medium heat and continue to boil for 20 minutes, stirring
constantly. Remove from heat. Add pecans and stir until mixture
thickens. Quickly drop onto greased foil. Let cool.

There. Six recipes that are a staple of southern cooking and living. Yes, I’m sure the fried pickles may have either made you really worry about the southern way of life, or perhaps you just drooled, thinking “I haven’t had one in ages”. Either way, you’re gonna love it.

Tina Samuels is a freelance writer and book author living in Rome, GA. She can be reached at tinasam69@hotmail.com