Myles's 17 layer Chocolate Cake

This cake is my youngest son, Myles's, favorite. For several years now, we have been trying to get the recipe right. We figured out the cake recipe fairly easily, but the icing has been a problem. There are thousands of chocolate icing recipes out there, but this is not a typical cake. One of my goals for this blog has been to figure a recipe out on my own, based on my memories of my grandmother's cooking. This cake has been an exception. Myles and I reached the point where we wanted someone to give us this recipe, we have begged for this recipe, and we have searched high and low for this recipe. I'm sure there are matters of national security that have not been as closely guarded as this cake recipe. Until now, if you didn't have a family member who's blood kin.. then you weren't getting the recipe. I won't go through all the harrowing details I went through recently to finally find the answer to the problem Myles and I have had with the icing, suffice it to say... no ingredient list was exchanged, but through a series of descriptions of what the problem was and suggestions as to what might correct it.... the recipe was completed. If you are a great baker, this recipe should be a breeze for you... if not, you might want to make sure you have at least 1 1/2 - 2 hours to complete this recipe. It's not as bad as it sounds, just read the recipe thoroughly first.


Myles's 17 layer Chocolate Cake

This cake calls for the fat and sugar to be creamed... any recipe that calls for creaming needs to be done precisely and with a cool metal or glass mixing bowl, room temp eggs, and room temp butter.

Preheat oven to 350•

Take eggs and butter out to sit... butter needs to be on the cool side of room temp.

Put stainless or glass mixing bowl and beater in fridge to cool (I use a kitchen-aide mixer, but you can use a hand held mixer, or, just mix it by hand)

Organize sauce pan and cake pans. Lightly grease cake pans, very lightly (I use 17 pans, but you can use less and then reuse the pans)

Organize ingredients:

Cake:

1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup butter
2 Tbsp Vanilla Extract
2 cups sugar
6 cool, room temp eggs
3 cups milk
3 cups self-rising flour

Creaming:

Place shortening and butter in cool bowl and beat at medium speed for 6 minutes.
Place sugar in bowl and beat at medium speed for 4 minutes.
Add vanilla extract and mix at slow speed until blended.
Add eggs one at a time, mixing at slow speed until blended.
Add 1/2 of the flour, mixing slowly, adding just enough milk to blend.
Add rest of flour, mixing slowly, and slowly mixing in the rest of the milk. Do not over mix, batter should be smooth and thin, but not over mixed... You may want to hand mix to keep batter from getting tough.

Take a 2/3 cup measuring cup and use to place 2/3 cup batter into each individual, very lightly greased, cake pan.

Begin preparing icing... place several cake pans in oven and cook for 8-10 minutes, or, until the cake batter is done, with sponge-like appearance, but not browned.

Cook as many pans at a time that you can take out and place icing on while hot. ( I cook 6-8 at a time, but if this is the first time, start with 4)

Prepare icing.

Icing:

You should use a large sauce pan with a heavy bottom to keep the milk from scalding, if you don't have one... stir more often.

3 cups sugar
6 Tbsp. cocoa
1 cup evaporated milk
1 1/2 stick butter (room temp.. very soft)
1/4 cup water

Over medium heat:

Place sugar in sauce pan.
Add cocoa.
Add 1/4 cup water and mix together until well blended.
Add milk and butter, mixing well.
Stir occasionally, (or, often, depending on pan) keeping a close eye on icing so it doesn't scald.
Bring to a boil until icing begins to thicken, just a few minutes +.
Remove cake from oven and place first layer on cake form or plate.
Ice immediately with hot icing, turn icing down to low, continue sequence until all most layers are iced, then remove icing from heat and continue.
Icing will thicken the longer it cooks and thicken the longer it cools, so that by the time you get to your last layer, the icing should be cooler and thicker to be placed on the top and side layers. If the icing is too thin, allow to cool or add small amounts of powder sugar to thicken ( I really don't recommend the powdered sugar, it makes the icing too sweet with this cake, cooling the icing should thicken it)



You can make the cake in larger layers and then cut the layers, but, if you have enough cake pans, the individual layers are better.

Chicken and Dumplings

My oldest son, Cason, loved my gran's chicken and dumplings. As far as he is concerned, I've yet to perfect her recipe. The reason why is simple.... I cheat by using pre-made dumplings.... and, I use chicken breast without the fat. It's the fat that does it.... all the flavor is in the fat. The recipe below is the right way to make them, so.... Cason.. this is for you :)

Chicken and Dumplings

Large whole or cut up chicken or hen, cooked until tender and then deboned, skin removed and cut or torn into smaller pieces
Salt and Black Pepper to taste
4 cups plain flour
1 1/2 cups warm water
4 Tbsp butter (1/2 stick)
Rolling pin and extra flour to sprinkle to keep dough from sticking
Dough rolling plastic, wax paper or something to roll the dough out on

Prepare chicken ahead of time:

Place chicken or hen in large stock pan, cover with water and bring to a boil.
Add salt and pepper.
Cover pan, turn heat down and simmer until chicken falls apart.
When chicken is done... remove from broth and allow to chicken to cool.
Set broth aside until dumplings are ready to be added.
Once chicken is cool, remove bones and skin and tear or cut into smaller pieces.

If you want to .... you can add onions and celery to the boiling chicken and then remove them from the broth when you remove the chicken.



Dumplings:

Sift 4 cups of plain flour into bowl. Add 1 1/2 cups warm water, blend until it becomes a hard paste.
Sprinkle a large sheet of dough rolling plastic, or, wax paper with extra flour and place dough for rolling.
Sprinkle rolling pin with flour and begin to roll dough until very thin.
Cut into strips and leave until ready to place in boiling water.
Bring broth to a boil, add dumplings.
Add chicken back to broth.
Continue to simmer for 10 - 12 minutes.




If you like your broth thicker... add small amounts of flour until the broth reaches the consistency you like.... remember that the longer it cooks.. the thicker it will become.

Chicken Divan

This is a quick and easy dish that my gran and mom used to cook. I never really liked casseroles, but this is an exception. All of the cooking that my gran did was adaptable to whatever she had in her kitchen at that time. I can't ever remember her needing a missing ingredient, because if she didn't have the ingredient, she just modified the recipe! Yet another of her skills that I didn't inherit :)

Chicken Divan
Preheat oven 350◦

6-8 cups Fresh cooked or frozen cooked broccoli
4-6 cups cooked chicken, diced (I microwave chicken breast)
1 cup mayo
2 cans cream of chicken soup (I substitute 1.5 cups sour cream, it makes it tart)
2 Tbsp lemon juice
Salt and pepper to taste
1+ cup grated cheddar cheese
Crushed saltines or crackers to cover top (you can add small amount of butter)
15 cup baking dish (you can halve recipe or place in separate containers and freeze)

Mix Mayo, seasonings, sour cream or cream of chicken soup and lemon juice.
Layer chicken, mayo, broccoli,mayo, chicken.... until all ingredients are used.
Sprinkle cheese and saltines over top.

Bake uncovered 25 minutes

Advice and tips from Grannies Group

My gran was a very tough woman... she would have fit in on the prairie, or, in the middle of a group of woman from my papa's congregation. Not much phased her and common sense was the key to her and her generation. I think they would shake their heads at our generation and tell us to get a grip! She and my papa were married forever, well over 60 years and her marriage advice to me on the eve of their 50th wedding anniversary was "to lie". Now there wasn't a more honest woman on the face of the earth than my gran and I was shocked! When I asked what she meant, she replied "our thoughts and emotions lie to us... some mornings I looked at your papa and wondered what on earth I was thinking when I married him and some days I didn't like him at all! But, when I married him, I made a commitment to love, honor and obey him... the obey part went right out the window, but, even on the days when I didn't like him, I chose to love him and I chose to treat him like I loved him and I'm sure he did the same for me when he had those kinds of days. Those days of "lying" to each other, got us through until the love simmered heated us up again."

This was a friend of her's advice on Preserving a husband:

Choose carefully.. Do not bring them to a boil....Many insist on keeping them in hot water, but this makes them hard and sour.... Be careful not to chill them with indifference; instead keep them warm with the sunshine of your love..... Even the poor varieties may be sweet, tender and good if spiced with the essence of love and a helping of play. If treated this way... they will last for years!

Measurements

dash = less than 1/8 tsp
3 tsp = 1 Tbsp
16 Tbsp= 1 cup
1 cup = 1/2 pint
2 cups = 1 pint
4 cups = 1 quart
4 quarts = 1 gallon
8 quarts = 1 peck
4 pecks = 1 bushel

1 oz = 2 Tbsp
1 cup = 8 oz
16 oz = 1 lb

Table of Proportions:

1 tsp salt to 1 quart soup or sauce
1 tsp salt to 4 cups of flour for dough
1 tsp salt to 1 lb of meat
1/2 tsp salt to 1 quart of water for vegetables

Gravy Thickening:

3 Tbsp flour to 1 cup stock
1 1/4 cup flour to 8 cups stock
2 1/4 cup flour to 12 cups stock

Cooking Tips

If you are baking, it is very important to read the entire recipe and follow the progression of steps in the recipe in the order.

Do not panic if you make a mess, burn something, or have to substitute ingredients.

If you burn meat and you catch it before the burnt smell permeates the meat and affects the flavor, you can trim the burnt sections off.

Some of the ugliest cakes make the best tasting ones.

Let your cake cool before icing.

Never grease the sides of a cake pan, only the bottom, if you want your cakes to rise evenly.

Cream of tarter makes a cake lighter.

Always use whole milk or buttermilk in your cake recipes.

Do not pack your flour when measuring for baking.

Let eggs and milk reach room temperature before using in baking.

Place stainless steel bowls and whisk in freezer before whipping creams.

Flour and eggs are what sets a cake, but too much of either and the cake will be dry. Sugar and fats are what gives the cake it moisture, but too much of either will cause the cake to collapse.

To remove excess salt from liquids (soup) ... drop sliced raw potatoes into liquid (soup) and boil for 5 or 6 minutes and remove potatoes.

Criss cross bacon in frying pan and flip all pieces at once.

Root vegetables need to be cooked in cold water and brought to a boil, vegetables grown above ground need to be cooked in already boiling water.

Feel free to add your own tips....

Egg Cooking Times

Egg Size	Degree of Doneness	Time Required
Medium	Soft-cooked yolk	3 minutes
	Medium-cooked yolk	5 minutes
	Hard-cooked yolk	12 minutes
Large	Soft-cooked yolk	4 to 5 minutes
	Medium-cooked yolk	6 minutes
	Hard-cooked yolk	17 minutes
Extra Large	Soft-cooked yolk	5 minutes
	Medium-cooked yolk	7 to 8 minutes
	Hard-cooked yolk	19 minutes

Deviled Eggs

Deviled eggs are a staple in any southern kitchen and there are so many different toppings you can add to them. My husband loves to top the eggs with sliced jalapeno peppers, sliced green olives are my favorite, and my Colin's friend, Katelyn, puts bacon on hers. Each topping is an excellent addition and deviled eggs make a great side dish with any meal. My gran kept them simple and used yellow mustard in hers. I started out making them the same way she did, but, I use more salad pickles in mine than she did in hers and the mustard with the extra pickles is just too much, so, I eliminated the mustard. If you use less salad pickles, you can add a little mustard for extra flavor.

A quick note about eggs: When I was a child I would go with my granny to an uncle's chicken house and get the eggs fresh from him. I learned early on that you don't want to use an egg that is too fresh in baking, or, in making deviled eggs. My memory is not reliable on why, just that you don't use the eggs in cooking until they are around 3 days old. In today's kitchen's, most of us don't get our eggs fresh from the source and I'm not certain how old the eggs from the grocery store are, but, I don't think you need to worry about the 3 day rule. I also use eggs longer than the egg carton states (I keep my fridge really cold) and, in most recipes I let the eggs get room temp before using them.

Deviled Eggs

Hard boiled eggs ( I cook about 1 to 2 dozen at a time)
Mayo to taste (Kraft is my preference)
Drained Salad Pickles to taste
Salt and Pepper to taste

How to hard boil eggs:

Take large or jumbo eggs (preferably without cracks) out beforehand to let them begin to cool down to room temp.
Select a pot that will be large enough to accommodate the number of eggs you will be cooking
Add water to pot and bring to a rolling boil.
Begin timing the eggs when you add them to the boiling water. If the eggs are room temp and will not cool the water down, I remove the pot from the eye, cover the pot with a tight lid and set aside for 16 - 19 minutes (large eggs take less time than jumbo eggs).
Some cooks add salt to the water, but I think this makes them tougher, so I don't.
After 16-19 minutes, drain eggs from water and cover with cold water. Let sit for a few minutes and then peel and set aside.
To easily peel the eggs, take individual egg out of cool water and pop the bottom of the egg on the counter to crack the shell. Open the egg, grabbing hold of the membrane and dip the egg back in the water (you can run it under the faucet, but that is so wasteful) to help peel the egg shell in large pieces. Set the eggs aside.

When the eggs have been peeled clean ( no shell fragments left), take a sharp knife and slice the eggs in two. (I have several containers that hold and store the halved eggs, if you don't have a deviled egg plate or container (walmart has them) you can use a plate)
When the eggs have been sliced, pop the cooked egg yolks (the yellow parts) out into a mixing bowl, and replace the egg whites on the plate.

Take the cooked yolks and chop them as finely as possible ( you can use a food processor, but I hate cleaning mine, so I take a knife and a fork and chop away)
When the cooked yolks are ready, add salt, pepper, mayo and drained salad pickles and mix very well. Add other ingredients in small amounts until the cooked yolks are the consistency you like. The more mayo and salad pickles you add the looser the mix will be, the less you add, the thicker the mix will be.

Once you have the consistency you like, scoop the mixture out of the bowl and into the empty egg whites. If you want to fancy up the eggs, you can place the mixture in a pastry bag with a med. tip and swirl the mixture into the eggs and sprinkle with paprika or cayenne pepper.

Eat the eggs as they are, or, get creative and add your own favorite toppings.

Use any leftover mixture for an egg salad sandwich.

Chicken or Tuna Salad

Chicken or Tuna salad is quick, easy and filling. I've always parted ways with my gran on the issue of mayonnaise. Miracle Whip was always her first choice, but my preference has always been Kraft Mayo. She used both but I've never even purchased Miracle Whip, it's too sweet for me (ironic, I know). I love mayo. Choose your poison and half or third the recipe for less than 3 or 4 people. The recipe should be fresh for up to a week or more.

Chicken or Tuna Salad

Cooked, de-boned and chopped chicken, or, canned or cooked tuna fish
(I boil 4 or 5 chicken breast, or, two large cans of tuna)
Mayo to taste (approx 1/2 to 2/3 cups)
Salad pickles to taste (approx 1/2 cup)
Diced Celery to taste (approx 3 0r 4 stalks)
Salt and Pepper to taste (approx less than a teaspoon of each)

Drain tuna and salad pickles (drain chicken if using canned)
Mix, by hand, with mayo, celery, salt and pepper
That's it, you're done. Keep refrigerated.

You can add boiled eggs, grapes, nuts, etc. to liven it up, but my crew likes it plain.

Blueberry Stuff that every one but MJ likes :)

My gran used to make lemon or chocolate delight and it was yummy. There are "delight" recipes all over the web , but none quite fit what I had in mind for fresh blueberries. We eat fresh berries raw many different ways and I always hesitate to cook them, but desserts are almost always a sure thing. This began with an unfocused desire and ended well...or, at least the taste ended well. This is an example of "it doesn't matter what it looks like, as long as it taste good". I debated using nuts in this, I have pro-nut and anti-nut camps, but the roasted pecans were a disaster for a variety of reasons, so, no nuts. The topping is prettier with a mixture of nuts and blueberries, or mixed fresh berries. This is also really good with other berries, especially strawberries.

Blueberry Stuff that every one but Mary Jo likes...

1 purchased pre-made graham cracker crust, or,

Graham Cracker Crust:

Preheat oven to 350◦

1 individual wrapped package of graham crackers (usually 3 pkgs. to a box)
1/2 + stick butter, melted
1/4 cup brown sugar
Finely chopped nuts, if desired

Crumble graham crackers until fine (use a food processor if you'd like)
Add butter and brown sugar
Mix until mixture sticks together and will "pack" well (you may need to add additional, small amounts of melted butter)
If using chopped nuts later in the filling, roast nuts on top oven rack, checking often (nuts are high in fat and will burn quickly)
Remove nuts and set aside to cool for use later.
Place in the bottom of a glass baking dish, approx. 9x13, or, pie pan.
Heat in oven (approx 8-10 min)
Set aside and let cool. Turn oven off.

Blueberries:

You can use frozen, canned or blueberry pie filling, if using pie filling, skip the next steps....

1 qt. blueberries or other berries
Sure-Jell ( you will just use a sprinkling, ignore directions on box)
1/2 cup sugar
1 Tbsp lemon juice

Place blueberries, sugar and lemon juice in saucepan or microwavable bowl.
Mix together well
Sprinkle a liberal amount of Sure-Jell over mixture
(you can use corn starch, but I don't like it. Sure Jell is what is used in jams and jellies to make them set. It doesn't take much Sure-Jell, I probably used around 1 1/2 Tbsps and that was a gracious plenty)
Cook down over med heat on stove top or in microwave checking and stirring every 8-10 min. It shouldn't take more than 20-25 min to cook down and thicken.
The mixture should thicken more after it cools.
Set aside, or, in refrigerator to cool.

Filling:

1 8oz pkg cream cheese, plain or flavored
graham cracker crust
1 container cool whip or whipped cream
1 cup +/- chopped roasted nuts, if desired
You can also add a small amount of eagle brand sweetened milk to help make this mixture more creamy. It also makes it considerably sweeter, so I don't add it, but if you do, it doesn't take much. Have plastic containers/bags on hand to store left over milk and Sure-Jell.

Let cream cheese soften and place in mixing bowl.
Mix until creamy
Add cool whip, approx. 1/2 + container
Add nuts and/or eagle brand milk, if desired
Mix together until th0roughly blended and easy to spread. You may need to add more cool whip to get the consistency right.
The next step is a preference thing... I mix the crunchy graham cracker crust into this mixture just because it gives the dish a crunchier texture, but, it is just as well to leave it as the crust.
If you do leave the graham crackers as the crust, you need to make certain that the crust is packed well or the crust will pull into the filling mixture as you spread it. To help keep this from happening, make certain the filling mix is creamy and easy to spread, if it is not, try to spread it like this: scoop the filling out of the mixing bowl with a large, flat, flexible spatula (all of mine are silicon) and gently press the filling down onto the crust and with the spatula flat and sliding towards you, pull the spatula away.

Spread cooled and set blueberry mixture on top of filling.
Spread remainder of cool whip over top of blueberries.
Sprinkle fresh berries and/or nuts on top of cool whip.
It can be eaten immediately if all ingredients have cooled and set properly, or, if you're too hungry to wait, if not,
Cover with plastic wrap and let cool in refrigerator until ready for serving.

Sweet Tea

This is my gran's tea pitcher and this is the only pitcher I remember her using and she used it everyday. So what, you may ask, well, this pitcher is stoneware and weighs about ten pounds.... empty. Fill this pitcher up with a gallon of tea and it weighs, like, a gazillion pounds. I don't remember granny having arms like superwoman, but she must have had super strength to have heaved this on a daily basis. Lifting this is probably why she outlived all of her siblings but one. As much as I love this pitcher, it ranks right up there with her cast iron cookware in my heart, it's just too heavy for me. I'd like to think that I'm as much of a woman as my gran was, but the truth is, I don't even come close. My tea pitcher is a one gallon rubbermaid pitcher I use when I'm making the tea, and then I have smaller decorative pitchers for serving. It is sad to see it unused and maybe,one day, a child of mine will resurrect it.

Sweet Tea

5 family size tea bags (I use Luzianne)
1 to 1/2 cups sugar
4 cups boiling water (microwave or stovetop)

Bring water to a boil and drop in tea bags and let steep, or, place the tea in cold water, bring to a boil and let steep.
Place sugar to taste in bottom of pitcher and pour hot tea into pitcher.
Add water to used tea bags and set aside to steep.
Stir hot tea and sugar until sugar is dissolved.
Add steeped tea to tea and sugar mixture.
After sugar is dissolved, continue to add water to used tea bags (the tea bags will steep less and less and the water will be lighter every time) and
pour into tea and sugar mixture until gallon sized pitcher is full.

I don't add anything else to the tea, but you can add crushed mint leaves, sliced lemons, etc....

Mimi's Lacy Stovetop Skillet Cornbread

This is an incredibly easy, totally non-nutritional, great-tasting crispy cornbread. My granny and most other women from her generation cooked bread in every form imaginable. That was great for me, because I love bread in every form imaginable. My mother-in-law, also known as "Mimi", hooked my children on this bread from the time they could take in solids and they still love it. Once again, the pan in use is a cast iron skillet. This is not a frying pan, but a flat round pan (approx. 7x11 round with a slight lip) and a handle. It's official title is cast iron griddle number 7 . I'll upload a picture as soon as possible. If you don't have this type of pan you can use any type of round frying or omelet pan. If you don't have cast-iron cookware (or, like me, have a glass stove top) then the next best cookware to keep temperatures uniform and to keep contents of the pan from burning, is heavy stainless steel with a heavy bottom layer of stainless steel If you don't have any of these, just watch the bread carefully to keep it from burning.

Mimi's Lacy Stovetop Skillet Cornbread

Preheat pan with thin coating of olive oil over medium heat.

2 cups plain white corn meal
1/2 + cup water
salt to taste (start with 1/2 tsp)

While pan is preheating, mix plain white corn meal, water and salt.
Blend well.
If mixture is thick, add small amounts of water until mixture is soupy/sloshy but not thin.

When olive oil in pan begins to slightly smoke (smoke, not burn), pour mixture into pan and turn the heat to low or med low.
The batter should pour freely, but not run and be thicker in the middle and thinner on the edges (this is what makes it lacy)
Let the mixture cook slowly, checking to make certain it doesn't burn, once mixture has firmed up and center begins to bubble, begin to lift batter gently from edges.
When batter is firm enough to turn, gently turn and continue to cook on other side. (This can take up to 10 minutes each side depending on the stovetop)
When you can easily lift the cornbread, remove from griddle and place on wax paper or plate.
Let cool.

You can cook additional hoecakes and save them by placing them on wax paper and then wrap in aluminum foil.

Lazy Girl Cobbler

When I was young, my gran and I would go into the woods and pick blackberries and then go home and turn the picked berries into jams and jellies. As good as the jams and jellies were, we always made certain to save enough berries for a cobbler. If gran had the time, she would make the cobbler dough from scratch and cut the strips to place over the cobbler. If she was in a hurry, she would make this "lazy girl" cobbler. Since starting a family of my own, our children and I continue the tradition of picking the berries and making this cobbler. (I haven't made jams or jellies in years, but I may start back one day, hey, it could happen!) This cobbler was always my favorite because you can make the crust as thick or thin as you like. My cobblers tend to lean on the thick crust side, because the crust is good enough to eat on it's own and I love any kind of pastry. The photo shows a peach cobbler in a 15 cup glass baking dish with the recipe doubled. You can make this cobbler with any type of fruit that can be cooked in a pie, some fruit, like raw apples will require more cooking time.


Lazy Girl Cobbler

Preheat oven to 350◦

One 8 cup glass baking dish
1 quart fresh or frozen fruit (if using small fruit, like berries, you will need to double amount to get that much after the berries cook down)
1 stick of salted butter
1 cup of self rising flour (do not pack flour tightly into cup)
1 cup milk
1 cup sugar + sugar to be sprinkled over fruit before cooking

Prepare fruit for cooking, wash and clean if using freshly picked, thaw and rinse for frozen.
Place fruit into a sauce pan or microwave safe cookware and sprinkle a liberal amount of sugar over fruit. If you like the cobbler tart, you can skip this step.
Either place the fruit in sauce pan on top of the stove and cook on medium until the fruit has "cooked down", but, not over cooked (approx 15-20 min. depending on amount and type of fruit) or, place in microwave and cook for 8-12 minutes (again, depending on the type and amount of fruit). Do not drain.
Take 1 stick of salted butter and place in the bottom of the glass pan and place in the oven (or microwave) for melting. Watch and remove when melted. Set aside.
In a separate bowl, thoroughly mix flour, sugar and milk, it can be slightly lumpy, but, if you use a hand blender, be careful not to overblend.
Take the flour mixture and pour into the glass pan, over the melted butter.
Take the cooked fruit with the juices and pour over the batter.
Bake until the crust is brown (approx 15-30 min, Check after 15)
Let cool or serve with ice cream while hot.

Adjust your crust by halving or doubling the recipe, you may have to try several cookings until you get the cobbler tasting the way your family enjoys it the most.

Your fruit is already done after precooking it, so all you really need to do is let the crust cook and brown. The thicker the crust, the longer the cooking time.

Most of juice from the fruit will be absorbed into the crust the longer it sits, so if you like a juicy, fruity cobbler, make your crust thinner.

Sometimes when I cook with blackberries, I swirl the berries after putting the fruit into the batter and it turns the crust into a canvas of purple swirls.

This is tougher than I thought!

This is harder than I thought. It's one thing to know how to do something, it's another thing to put it into a framework that someone else can follow. I've spent years on some of these recipes and still don't have a clue how to translate them. It is also difficult to reconcile all of the recent rules of sanitation, fat content, how healthy is the food, blah , blah, blah with my original intent for this blog. As I was posting the fried chicken recipe, I began to think about how my granny not only cooked, but prepared her food, and how she stored it. She would get up first thing in the morning, take every thing she needed out of the freezer or refrigerator and let it sit until room temp. She was a messy cook, but her kitchen was clean, yet, even with that, when she was cooking meat, she used the sink to wash it, then placed the meat in the bottom of the sink to season it and let the meat stay there until she was ready for it. She cooked with lard, fat back, butter, real mayonnaise and all the other "bad stuff" we are supposed to stay away from now. Considering that, why is it that I'm still here? Oh, wait, I know, she had common sense and used it. That is how I can post these recipes and stay true to what my purpose is, that being, not only to share recipes, but also history.

Creamy Mashed Potatoes

Mashed potatoes are such a great comfort food and you can prepare them so many ways. I've worked out my favorite recipe and then provided several options to try. Everything for this recipe is to taste except for the amount of potatoes. I usually use 2 1/2 lbs of potatoes or more at a time, but if you are cooking for a smaller family, cut that amount in half.

Creamy Mashed Potatoes

Small red potatoes, cleaned, skin on, cut into chunks
Mayonnaise to taste
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
Salted Butter
Milk for thinning, if desired

In a large sauce pan, bring water to boil with a dash of salt.
Gently add potatoes to water (you can add them before the water begins to boil)
Turn heat to medium and let boil until potatoes are soft, check after 20 + minutes.
Drain water off of potatoes and return potatoes to pan.
Mash potatoes with a potato masher or hand mixer and add mayo, salt and pepper to taste and 1/4 stick butter. Beat to consistency you like, add milk if needed to thin. I use about a cup of mayo for 2 1/2 pounds of potatoes.

Variations:

You can use other kinds of potatoes, but I would remove skin from any other type

You can substitute buttermilk for the mayo and then use regular milk for thinning.

You can substitute milk for the mayo.

You don't have to add the butter, but why wouldn't you? :)

Crispy Fried Chicken

In my opinion, frying chicken well is an art. Watching my gran prepare and fry chicken looked so simple, but for me, it is something I've struggled with for years. When I finally did get it right, we remodeled our kitchen and replaced my stove with a glass top. What difference does that make? You cannot use cast iron skillets on a glass top stove. Foiled again. All those years of figuring out the perfect way to fry chicken went down the drain and I started over. I love my cast iron skillet and cast iron really is the best material for frying chicken that doesn't burn. I have not found a good substitute, a heavy grade of stainless steel with a copper bottom is close, but not close enough, and so this past Christmas, I admitted defeat and bought a turkey fryer. I don't see me ever using it to fry a turkey, although I hear they are amazing fried. I'm too much of a holiday traditionalist and my turkeys always come out moist and flavorful from the oven. I'll post that recipe later. Anyhoo....the turkey fryer is much easier until you have to clean it, but I don't fry chicken more than once a month so that isn't much of a consideration. I also need to add that when I do fry chicken, I'm frying lots of chicken, usually two whole fryers and 10 or 12 extra drumsticks and thighs. Lots of young men in my family. Any recipe that I post is centered around feeding a minimum of 6-8 people, since that is usually how many I'm cooking for, but any recipe I post is meant to be flexible and easily modified.

Crispy Fried Chicken

Prepare pan or fryer with shortening and heat to 365◦ (this can take a while depending on the size of the pan/fryer and the amount of shortening)
If you are using a turkey fryer, vegetable oil will be heated to 400◦

Metal Lid for pan/fryer

Fresh or Thawed cut fryer and/or favorite pieces, try to get smaller chickens, but if chicken pieces are large, you can cut a deep slash into the thickest part to help fry quicker
Flour
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
Garlic to taste
Cayenne Pepper to taste
Milk
Eggs
Shortening for skillets/pans: use enough to cover chicken 2/3 deep and leave room for the oil to rise after adding chicken
Vegetable oil for fryer


Take chicken out of refrigerator several hours before cooking, keeping cool, not cold (Yes, yes, I know about the dangers of bacteria and food poisoning, but, the bottom line for crispy chicken is that you have to have the right pan, the right temperature grease and you don't want to dump really cold chicken into your nice hot grease because then the grease cools down and your chicken becomes saturated with grease. Okay?)

Rinse chicken and set aside while you prepare the batter.

Mix your milk, seasonings and several eggs, mixing well and either set aside to dip chicken into batter or pour batter over chicken and coat well. I use a very large tupperware container with a top and add my milk batter to the chicken for soaking.
In a large container, mix flour and seasonings (you should put enough seasoning to be able to see seasonings thoughout the flour) and either dip chicken into the batter and then into the flour, or, take the coated chicken out of the batter, drop the pieces into the flour, place lid on flour container and shake chicken until completely coated.

Common sense alert: Grease is hot and dangerous, you should be very careful cooking and moving around the pan with the grease. Do not drop the chicken into the skillet, make certain the handle of the skillet is away from you, keep baking soda and a metal lid close by. If you aren't watching your oil carefully it can overheat and catch on fire.

When your oil is ready (flour should sizzle when a small amount is sprinkled in) and using long handled tongs, add chicken one piece at at time into skillet and place lid, or, place chicken pieces in fryer basket and lower, place lid.

If using a skillet: cook chicken for 12-15 minutes on each side, checking carefully to make certain it doesn't burn, you can turn the heat to medium and then turn it back to high before you turn the chicken over. I'd rather stay close and watch it. To check for doneness, you can stick a fork or knife into the thickest part of a piece and if the juice is clear, it is done. Remove chicken and place on a cooling rack, or paper bag, if chicken looks greasy, you can use paper towels to absorb extra oil. If someone comes across a piece that has a uncooked spot, just pop into the microwave and finish cooking.

If using the fryer: let it fry undisturbed for approx. 30 minutes or until pieces of chicken begin to float. Lift basket and let drain for a few minutes before removing. Place on cooking rack or paper bag, absorb any excess grease with a paper towel. Easy.

Breadbowl Biscuits

The photo and namesake of my blog is a bread bowl that belonged to my grandmother. This bowl and a cast iron skillet will be seen in many of my photos and are my favorite keepsakes from her. My gran used this bowl and skillet almost everyday that she cooked and she cooked everyday. When she was a child, her mother died and left her and eleven siblings to be cared for by her father. Her job was to cook for the family and she learned how to cook by doing and doing it in a big way. I have dozens of her recipe books, but they are pristine, none of them were used. No pages stuck together from batter flying, no stains from vanilla extract, no favorites marked, no signs of use period. On the other hand, the bowl and skillet show plenty of age and use. While they no longer get the same level of use, they are the apron strings that tie me to my gran. I'm going to attempt to share the way she made biscuits in this bowl. I wish I had a photo of her making them. She was a messy cook, she used her hands instead of utensils and she mixed and measured by feel. When I would help her make the biscuits she would be on one side of the bowl and I'd be on the other and she would guide my hands through the dough as though she could transfer her skills to me. She didn't, but I'll give it my best shot.

Breadbowl Biscuits

Preheat oven to 375◦

Oil cast iron skillet or baking pan and place into oven while oven is preheating. Do not let it overheat, you may need to place it in the oven after you have prepared the dough until you get the hang of it.

Self rising flour
Crisco shortening
Buttermilk
Butter
Wooden Breadbowl or large bowl



Pour flour into bowl
Make a hole in the center of the flour
Scoop out a "dollop" (1/2 cup?) of shortening
Work the shortening into the flour by placing your hand (or utensil) with the shortening into the hole and slowly "cutting" the shortening into the flour, using small amounts of flour and shortening at the time
When you have the shortening and flour mixed into "small flour pebbles"
Begin to add buttermilk into the hole
In circular motions, begin to mix the buttermilk into the flour pebbles, pulling in small amounts of flour and buttermilk until the consistency becomes pliable and not sticky.
The dough should roll easily into a ball and not have cracks or be sticky.
Pinch off small portions of the dough and roll them into medium size balls, or roll the dough and cut into circles with a inch deep cookie cutter.
Place the dough into the heated oiled skillet or pan and press gently.
Melt butter or cut into thin pats and place onto top of biscuits.
Cook for 10 to 15 minutes, checking after 10, until tops are light to medium brown.

There are easier biscuit recipes, just check the White Lily flour bag if you are looking for easy. There is something deeply satisfying about working this dough and you might want to give it a try at least once. Be patient, don't overwork the dough and wear an real apron, not the fancy kind.

Cornbread Dressing With Gravy

Every southern cook I know has their own dressing recipe and the recipes are as diverse as the cooks themselves. This recipe took me several years to get right and it's just the way I remember how Gran's dressing tasted. I cook this throughout the year and it goes well with many white meats other than turkey. At Thanksgiving, I don't stuff the turkey, that's just gross and no one in my family would eat it if I did, so the dressing is on the side. This recipe is a definite "season to taste" recipe and it can be as moist or as dry as you like it. I either cook or get every dish ready to be cooked the day or week before Thanksgiving. If you make this ahead of time, be certain to keep it refrigerated until cooking due to the uncooked eggs. I have to be honest, at Thanksgiving I make every thing from scratch, the stock, cornbread, etc..., but I cheat at Christmas. I'll put my "cheat" ingredients in parenthesis and leave the rest up to you.

Bread

Preheat oven to 400◦
Oil medium to large cast iron skillet (any baking pan will do, cast iron is best)
Place skillet in oven while oven preheats

2 cups corn meal
2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp salt (+ - )
2 eggs
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 cup sweet milk ( + ) if needed to make it slightly soupy, maybe I should start to describe it as sloshy?

Double recipe if needed for more than 4-6 people.

Bake until medium brown on top ( check at 15 minutes +)
Set aside to cool

Chicken Stock
(or high quality, store bought chicken stock - minimum 12 cups, and onions, celery and bell pepper )

1 small hen ( 1 medium chicken if you can't find a small hen, in my opinion, the hen's all look like sumo wrestlers and are huge, which is fine if you are going to use or freeze the meat, but when you've got a turkey cooking, it's just too much, anyhoo....)
1 small to medium onion
6 + celery fronds
1 small to medium bell pepper
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste

Fill large pot with water, salt, pepper and hen and bring to a boil. ( or bring pre-made chicken stock to boil)
Dice onion, celery and bell pepper and lightly stir fry with small amount of olive oil. Do not fry until translucent.
Add onion, celery and bell pepper to boiling water with hen.
Turn heat down to medium and cook until hen is done (approx. 45 minutes+, depending on size of hen and whether the hen was thawed when you put it in the water) ( I recommend thawing)

Let cool and do not drain

Dressing

Preheat oven to 450◦

1 section of saltines ( or store-bought dry stuffing mix)
Bread from recipe above
Stock from recipe above
3 eggs
3 boiled eggs, if desired
1 stick butter (unsalted, or, if you only have salted, do not add salt)
Thyme to taste ( I use about 1+ Tbsp)
Sage to taste ( I use about 1+ Tbsp)
Salt to taste (approx. 1 tsp, taste first, since your bread and stock has salt)
White or Black Pepper to taste

Chop or crumble together (you can use a food processor, I just use my hands) saltines and bread into a large baking pan ( I use the disposable kind)
Add thyme, sage, salt and pepper
Mix 3 raw eggs into mixture and mix well
Melt butter and pour into mixture and mix well.
Add chopped boiled eggs, if desired
Add stock to make it just a little more sloshy than you want your cooked dressing to be. I like the dressing to be moist enough to not need any gravy.
Mix well and bake until medium brown on top and it sets. ( check after 40 minutes, time depends on amount of dressing and how much stock you add, if dressing is thin and dry, check before 40 minutes)

Gravy

Okay, everyone has their own way to make gravy, too. I'm including several different options and you can use what works for you. If you have a better way, please add it.

Strained chicken stock
Giblets and meat from hen, chopped
onions, celery, bell pepper strained from stock

Stir stock while bringing to a boil and then turn down to medium and stir constantly to keep from burning or sticking to the bottom of sauce pan. Once gravy thickens, turn to low or warm.

Flour to stock approx. ratios:

3Tbsp flour to 1 cup stock
1 1/4 cups flour to 8 cups stock
2 1/4 cups flour to 12 cups stock

add more flour for thicker gravy, more stock for thinner gravy



1. My way: Begin to bring strained stock to a boil in an oversized sauce pan, adding flour while stock comes to a low boil, have an electric hand blender, not mixer, ready and very carefully blend the flour and stock. The stock is hot, boiling hot, and you do not want to just stick the blender in and start blending without being cautious. Make certain your sauce pan is deep enough so the stock will not splatter. After you get the gravy to the consistency you like, add small amounts of your strained ingredients and some chopped meat into the gravy, if desired. This is the fastest and easiest way to make this gravy without lumps.

2. Mix cold strained chicken stock with plain flour to gravy consistency, when it's blended well, pour into boiling stock and stir constantly until no longer lumpy. Add small amount of strained ingredients,chopped boiled eggs and chopped meat from hen, if desired ( I don't).

3. Mix hot strained chicken stock with plain flour to gravy consistency, when well blended, pour into boiling stock and stir constantly until no longer lumpy. Add strained ingredients and meat.

Rick's Orange Cookies

Okay, this is not a "Granny" recipe, it's an adaption of a lemon cake she made. I borrowed this recipe from a truly excellent cook, so all thanks to Rick, whose gift of these cookies reminded me of Gran's cake.

Orange Cookies with Orange Glaze Icing

Preheat oven 375◦
Lightly oil cookie sheet

1 1/3 cup shortening
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
2 Tbsp. grated orange rind (I use lemon and I double the amount)
5 1/2 cups of all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup orange juice (I use 1/2 cup lemon juice, I like it tart)
If using concentrate, mix with half the water
1 cup chopped nuts

Mix dry ingredients and set aside
Cream sugar and shortening.
Add eggs one at a time, beating well in between each addition.
Add orange rind and mix well.
Alternate flour mixture and orange juice until mixed.

Place on cookie sheet and cook. I don't have a cook time, so cook for 10 minutes and then check.
The thicker the cookie the longer the cooking time.

Orange Glaze

2 cups confectioner's sugar
1/4 (+) cup orange juice (lemon)
2 Tbsp (+) grated orange rind (lemon)

Mix well and to taste.
Spread onto cooled cookies

Dough can be frozen.

No, It's not Cornbread, It's a Giant Biscuit!

My mother made this to go with center cut ham and it has taken me several months to get the texture just right. I searched every where for guidance, but could only find recipes for drop biscuits. This is cooked like cornbread, but is made with flour and turns out like a giant biscuit.
The cast iron skillet in this photo belonged to my grandmother and is the type I recommend for many of these recipes. This is a basic recipe that is much easier than biscuits and is very tasty. You'll find that I like quick and tasty and most of my recipes will follow that line of thought. :)




No,It's not Cornbread,
It's a Giant Biscuit!

2 cups buttermilk
1/2 cup Crisco shortening
2 cups self-rising flour (do not pack flour tightly into cup)

Preheat oven to 375◦

Oil a medium to large cast iron skillet and place in oven while oven is preheating (any pan will do, but cast iron is best for this or cornbread)

In a medium sized bowl:
Cut the shortening into the flour until the flour looks like small white pebbles.
Add 2 cups buttermilk and mix until mildly soupy (not runny, not thick)
Remove cast iron skillet from oven (with mitts, it's hot) and pour batter into skillet

Let cook for approximately 15 minutes, then test center with a toothpick. If toothpick comes out clean, turn oven to broil and allow top to brown, watching the entire time to ensure the top doesn't burn.

When the top is light brown, remove, cool, cut and eat!

Try with cane syrup or home made jams and jellies