Cornbread croutons, veggies give this quintessential Southern dish new twist

What could be more Southern than cornbread? A recent issue of Southern Living magazine featured a variety of quintessential recipes (such as cornbread, grits, collards, and shrimp jambalaya) highly identified with our region of the country. The magazine gave each of them a new twist to make them more appealing to today’s lighter palate.

One that caught my eye and immediately went into the “must-try” category was Panzanella Salad with Cornbread Croutons. I have been the Cornbread Queen ever since my first cookbook, Way Back in the Country, was released some years back and I traipsed from TV station to TV station in the promotion of it. During this interesting time I had to learn a new skill: preparing food under the glare of TV cameras. The programming person at each TV station requested that I make Golden Cornbread, one of my family’s staple recipes. I can’t tell you how many batches of cornbread I whipped up for the TV lights so I would have the finished product on display while I stirred up a demo batch.

As a result of this blitz I grew to the point at which I could make cornbread in my sleep. So, to get this new recipe started, I tested myself to see whether I could remember the oft-baked Golden Cornbread Recipe (find it on page 23 of my cookook, Way Back in the Country) by heart. Once I baked a pan of it and let it cool completely, I cut up the cornbread into the 1-inch cubes that this recipe required and then toasted these cubes briefly in the oven so their edges would be brown and crouton-like.

From the garden the recipe called for red onion, a yellow bell pepper, tomatoes, and cucumber. How I look forward to some of those items being abundantly arrayed in my own garden a few weeks hence! (The tomato crop looks as though it will be particularly vast. As I gaze out my patio door, I see row after row of Hubby’s tomato stakes gleaming in the sun.)

We loved the honey-and-lemon vinaigrette that tied this unusual mixture together and gave it a slight Italian accent. I forgot to say that besides the other items in this somewhat unorthodox combination, the recipe also called for Hubby’s favorite condiment—black olives. I’ve always read that cornbread salad is a guy thing and that the heartiness of it makes it a man favorite. Truly, Panzanella Salad with Cornbread Croutons was a Hubby-pleaser through and through.

Panzanella Salad with Cornbread Croutons

One pan cornbread (made from your favorite recipe), cooled completely

1 yellow bell pepper, diced

1 small red onion, diced

1/2 cup olive oil, divided

2 teaspoons lemon zest

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon honey

salt (or salt substitute) and pepper, to taste

3 Roma tomatoes, diced

1/2 cucumber, quartered and sliced

1/2 cup black olives, sliced

1/2 cup torn fresh basil leaves

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut cornbread into 1-inch cubes. Bake in a single layer on a lightly greased cookie sheet 15 minutes or until edges are golden. Stir halfway through. Meanwhile saute bell pepper and onion in 1 tablespoon hot olive oil in a small skillet over medium-high heat 5 minutes or until pepper and onion are crisp-tender. In a large bowl whisk together lemon zest, lemon juice, honey, remaining 7 tablespoons olive oil, and salt and pepper. Stir in onion mixture, tomatoes, and next 3 ingredients. Add toasted cornbread cubes and toss to coat. Serve immediately. Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Pineapple Pie keeps Christmas memories alive for our family

Christmas is the season for thinking of others—even foodwise. Nobody ever modeled this maxim better than my mother did.

Each year for the family Christmas gathering Mom knew my Uncle Bill, her brother-in-law, loved pineapple pie, so she worked herself silly getting one ready to bring for him to eat. The rest of us enjoyed pineapple pie, also, but she made sure he got the first helping.

This beloved uncle long ago went to his heavenly reward. Everyone remembered the pineapple pie story—I alluded to it in my first cookbook, Way Back in the Country, which contained the recipe for it. But pineapple pies themselves haven't shown up at a holiday get-together for many, many years.

This morning I pulled myself away from the covers at an exceptionally early hour and had as my goal to try to recreate my mom's pineapple pie so the legend could live again when the family gathers this afternoon for Christmas Eve. Granted, nobody can follow in my mom's mighty footsteps as a cook, but my take on her pie is baked and ready to go in its pie carrier for a cross-town trip to see the relatives. Uncle Bill's story will be told once again; he will be remembered.

No doubt the same type of thing will be occurring in homes near and far today and tomorrow, as the food that is served evokes memories of special people and good times and past holidays that live forever in our hearts. In our family it's Uncle Bill's pineapple pie and Uncle Herbert's Barbecue and Nanny's orange balls and countless other menu items. In someone else's the food items may be vastly different from ours, but the recipes bond people to life experiences in exactly the same way.

May your dining be hearty, your recollections warm, and even some new traditions started because of a brand-new dish that's introduced as the generations roll on. For me, I can't wait to see what's on the buffet spread this afternoon and what new recipes I bring home as others share their creativity! Merry Christmas!

Pineapple Pie

1 1/2 cups sugar (or sugar substitute)

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

3 egg yolks (I use egg substitute)

3 cups milk (I use skim)

pinch of salt (or salt substitute)

1 tablespoon margarine

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 (8-ounce) can crushed pineapple, undrained

1 ready-cooked 9-inch pie shell

your favorite meringue recipe

In a heavy saucepan mix the first five ingredients well and cook until mixture is thick. Add margarine, vanilla, and pineapple. Pour into ready-cooked pie shell. Top with meringue; cook in oven until meringue is golden brown.

Glazed Sweet Potatoes—look no further if you're still digging around for a Thanksgiving sweet-potato recipe

In an earlier blog I mentioned the heretical act of subbing a new green-bean recipe for the time-honored Green Bean Casserole that's typical Thanksgiving fare. I really stepped across the line this year when I also subbed Glazed Sweet Potatoes for the traditional, pecan-topped sweet-potato "candy" that families have used for decades. I love that version—Sweet Potato Casserole that appears in my first cookbook, Way Back in the Country, and that was introduced in our family by my cousin, Jana. But I was itching to try a new sweet-potato recipe this year; we gave a high-five to the outcome.

Glazed Sweet Potatoes is simple enough—prepared with fresh sweet potatoes with a glaze of maple-flavored syrup (we used sugar-free syrup) mixed with brown sugar, butter, and spices. But oh, what a hit! I truly believe it was the star of my "drive-by" Thanksgiving dinner that we pulled together for our family time days ago. I even prepared it twice before Thanksgiving. I had some fresh sweet potatoes left over and decided to create it a second time.

Anyone who wants a sweet-potato dish on the Thanksgiving table but who doesn't want to go to the fuss (although a worthwhile fuss, I might add) of the traditional casserole would be smart to whip this one up quickly. Recipe courtesy Taste of Home magazine. Although he's complimentary of everything, Hubby deep-down likes his sweet potatoes rather basic, so with this dish he was enthralled, to say the least!

Happy Thanksgiving cooking! Today's the marathon day! Enjoy yourselves in your kitchen and relish in the foods of this great holiday.

Glazed Sweet Potatoes

2 pound medium sweet potatoes or 2 cans (18-ounces each) sweet potatoes, drained

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup maple-flavored syrup (I used sugar-free)

1/4 cup packed brown sugar (I used brown-sugar substitute and used only 1/8 cup)

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

If using fresh sweet potatoes, place in a kettle, cover with water, and cook covered for 25-35 minutes or just until tender. Drain; cool slightly. Peel and cut into chunks. Place cooked or canned sweet potatoes in a 2-quart baking dish. In a small saucepan combine butter, syrup, brown sugar, and cinnamon; cook and stir until mixture boils. Pour over potatoes. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes or until mixture is heated through. Makes 8 servings.