Grilling and Chilling

Well, I have been dragging my feet lately with my blog updates. I hope to catch up. I have been judging week after week. We’ve travelled all over. You wouldn’t believe! One week in Southern Alabama, next in Southern Georgia. Then we traveled to Salisbury, Maryland, then Northern Mississippi, and then spent a week in Memphis. We had little time to rest, because after that we travelled to Sevierville, TN and then back to Stone Mountain, Georgia. So we’ve been all over recently! Now, we are home for two weeks, and the 4th is right on us.
And it is definitely grilling and chilling time.

I have so much catching up to do, I am going to make this short and sweet.

So let us grill some chicken thighs. I think they are the best: more flavor, more meat and easier to do. Don’t let the Mayo fool you like it did me!

Now we are grilling:

L.R.B.’s Bar-B-Q ‘d Chicken

Use thighs that are the same size.

To make marinate, use one bottle of Kraft Spicy Italian salad dressing. Let it sit then pour off the oil and leave the goodies. Then take the juice from a jar of sliced and pickled jalapeno peppers and fill the dressing jar. Shake.

To make glaze use

1 part Memphis style B.B.Q. sauce or what you have

1/4 part Pure honey

1) Clean thighs, place in zipper locking bag and add marinate. Leave in for 2 hours.

2) Pull skin down over top and sides and pin.

3) Start fire and bring up to 275 degrees Fahrenheit (use wood chips if you can)

4) Take your thighs and pat the skin dry

5) Add a heavy coat of mayonnaise to skin side.

6) Put into the smoker for 1 hour

7) Wrap in Heavy Duty foil for 1/2 hour, and test internal temperature. You want it to be 165 degrees Fahrenheit.

8) Remove from foil and wipe off excessive mayo.

9) Glaze with your glaze. Then put it back into the smoker to caramelize. DON’T LET IT BURN!

Now we are chilling:

Blueberry & Lemon Chicken Salad

This is one that you can play with. You may want more of this and less of that, so do your thing. Another is if you are calorie conscious, you can use yogurt instead of mayo.

Here is what we need:

4 Lg. split chicken breast, with skin and bone.

1 red bell pepper (med)

1 celery hearts

1 bunch green onions

1 pt. fresh blueberries

2 fresh lemons (if you get lemon yogurt you will need only 1 for garnish)

1 pt. yogurt (now you can get lemon yogurt) or mayo

Salt and fresh ground black pepper

You will need some good crackers

1) Let’s boil our chicken with a little salt and pepper till just tender.

2) Get it out of the hot water. Let it cool, then pull off the skin and bones.

3) Cut into 1/2 inch squares and chill in the fridge.

4) Cut your red peppers and celery in 3/8 inch squares

5) Slice green onions 1/4 inch thick, white and green parts.

6) What I like to do is to fix everything the day before and let it chill in zipper locking bags. I like to wash and look my blueberries. I use a chilled S/S bowl, add everything BUT the chicken, including the mayo or yogurt If you don’t have lemon yogurt then take the zest of one lemon, then add salt and pepper.

7) Now it’s ready to eat except for the chicken.

8) Lastly, fold (DO NOT MIX) in the chicken. Then transfer to serving dish that the edge is garnished with thin slices of lemon around the edge of your dish.

Serve on a lettuce leaf or with crackers

Fruit Cake

Fruit Cake - Unbaked

1 pound graham crackers
1 Cup pecans (toasted)
8 oz. seedless raisins
8 oz. candid mixed fruit
1 pound dried figs
1/2 Cup maraschino cherries
1 pint whipping cream
1 teaspoon rum flavor
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Make crumbs of graham crackers. I place all of the fruit, marshmallows and nuts in food processor and cut to where the cherries are about 1/4 there size, but not too fine. Now add the vanilla and rum flavor. Then fold the fruit and cracker crumbs in. Whip the cream until it stands up good then fold it together. Now fold in the whipped cream.

I take a 5X4X9 loaf pan and line with aluminum foil that is large enough to seal it. When packed, I would use the back of a tablespoon to smooth the top.

You can lay a cloth on top with some rum on it and seal and place in the fridge for 24+ hours. When I serve, I slice about 1/4 inch thick and cut that piece in half. Then place a heaping tablespoon of whipped cream on one half then place the other slice on top with a heaping teaspoon of whipped cream in the center. Dust lightly with powdered sugar and sprinkles.

Sour Cream Chocolate Cake

Sour Cream Chocolate Cake

This one is not old fashion but you need to try it.

What you’ll need:

1 box devil food cake mix
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs
2 cans milk chocolate frosting
1/2 cup sour cream
a 9 x 11 x 2 cake pan

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray cake pan lightly and dust with flour.

Mix eggs, buttermilk and oil. Add cake mix and mix well then add 1 cup sour cream and mix for at least 1 minute. Add some water if needed.

Pour into your pan and level by tilting and shaking and bake. Check after 25 minutes and when you tap on top it should spring back (DON’T OVER BAKE) I leave mine in the pan and let it cool then ice heavy with light and fluffy chocolate icing.

Take two cans of milk chocolate frosting and 1/2 cup sour cream. Mix together until light and fluffy.

Apple pie

Apple pie

Always use fresh apples when you can.

2 Cups apples
1/2 Tbsp cinnamon
1 stick real butter
3/4 cups All Purpose flour
2/3 cups sugar

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Place crust in a 9 in pie pan. Mix 1/2 of the sugar and cinnamon. Lay flat the sliced apples in the crust. Sprinkle with the sugar and cinnamon. Mix the other 1/2 sugar and the flour, then add butter and cut in and sprinkle on the apples.

Bake at 400 for about 40 minutes. It should be light brown. Serve hot or cold.

I would reheat and serve with a slice of cheese, real whipped cream, cool whip, or ice cream.

Pumpkin Pie

Pumpkin Pie

What you need:

1- 9in. pie shell in a 9 in. pie plate
You can make your own but I now take the easy way out and get them at the grocery.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. I take the top rack out, and put pie on middle shelf.

1 and 1/3 cup canned dry packed pumpkin
1 and 1/2 cup milk (I use skim)
3 Large Eggs
1 cup of sugar or Splenda, I use it because I am diabetic
1/2 tsp salt
1 and 1/4 tsp cinnamon (level)
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp cloves

Dump everything in a bowl and mix with a wire whip. Next pour into your shell and put into oven. Bake for 35 minutes. Check if the crust is getting brown. Make hole in a piece of aluminum foil so it will cover about 1 and 1/2 inches on the outside, and lay on pie.

Now if you are lucky enough to have a pie shield, now is the time to use it because a burned crust will ruin the best pie. Finish baking for about 20 minutes, check the center. It should be firm.

Yeast Rolls

Yeast Rolls

FOR 4 dz. (For 2 dz.)

1 oz Quick active dry yeast (1/2 oz)

1/4 cup melted butter (1 Tbsp & 2 tsp)

3/4 cup sugar (5 Tbsp & 2 tsp)

1 1/2 cup warm water (110) (3/4 cup)

1 tsp salt (1/2 tsp)

6 1/4 cup plain flour (3 cup + 1 Tbsp & 2 tsp)


I use a kitchen aid artisan with a dough hook. I run hot water in bowl to warm. Then I add 1/2 of water to yeast and mix let sit until foamy.

Mix the butter, sugar, salt, and the rest of your water then add yeast and about 1/2 of the flour. When it is mixed well, start adding the rest of the flour a little at a time until all is used then mix until it pulls away from the bowl. Remove hook and spray lightly with vegetable oil.

Cover with towel and let rise until it doubles in size. Then knock down and place in the fridge until cool. I roll it out to about 1/2 inch thick and cut with a 2 inch biscuit cutter and roll them into a ball and put on a cooking sheet about 1 inch apart. I do this so they will all be the same size. Brush with melted butter. Cover and let rise to double the size. Then place into a 360 degree Fahrenheit pre-heated oven until golden brown. I then brush again with butter.

Sweet Tater Casserole

Sweet Tater Casserole

What You’ll Need

4 cups baked and mashed sweet taters
1 cup of pineapple tidbits
1 cup golden raisins (soaked)
1 cup of miniature marshmallows
1/2 stick of real butter
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup fresh graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup of pecans
1 Tbsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cloves

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

In your mixing bowl, put potatoes, pineapple tidbits, raisins, and marshmallows.

Add nutmeg, cloves and cinnamon.

Fold together and pour into a 9 in x 13 in x 2 in baking dish.

Place the pecans evenly over the top.

Mix brown sugar and cracker crumbs and sprinkle over the top.

Bake in the oven until it starts to brown.

Cream style frozen corn

For many years, I would freeze my own corn, but I have out grown that. I now use the frozen kind that comes in a package that looks like an ear of corn.

I even cheat more and use the microwave because it is so easy and quick.

Using a baking dish I slit the package and pull off the wrapper and place it in the microwave just long enough to thaw good and add real butter and pepper.

Cook for 3 min and stir, and do it again then do it again. Now taste and see if you need any salt. You can wait until ready to serve and heat again.

Turkey Gravy

It is a must that you have mashed taters with this gravy.

I take the neck, liver, gizzard and heart. Add a little salt and pepper and plenty of water to make broth. Bring to a boil and cut back to a simmer. When tender remove the meat and let it cool. When the broth is cool enough, put into a ziplock bag and place in the fridge with the zipper side up.

When cool enough for the fat to set up, cut the bottom corner of ziplock off and it will drain out. The sides will suck in and trap all the fat.

I bake the turkey in double heavy duty aluminum foil so I can save all of the drippings. I add this to a skillet. If you want more gravy add some broth. Then make a slurry out of corn starch and cool broth.

Bring to a boil and add a little of the slurry stirring all the time.

It must boil to see how thick it will be. You don’t want it to be very thick. Keep doing this till you are satisfied, so it will coat the back of a spoon. Taste, salt and pepper to suit you.

Then pick all the meat off the neck take it and the liver, gizzard, and heart, chop very fine and add to part of your gravy to make giblet gravy.

Mashed White Potatoes

Mashed White Potatoes

I am sure that everyone knows how to mash potatoes as good as I do. BUT, here is what I do. I like to use red potatoes that are full grown, not new potatoes.

This recipe is based on 2 1/2 pounds of potatoes. I peel them then 1/4 and cut in half. Then I drop them in cold water till ready to cook; you want enough water to cover them good. I want my taters to come last. You should allow about 20 minutes.

I add a little salt, approximately 1 teaspoon, and bring it to a boil. Now, I use a ladle to put them in and sit it down in the water. Make sure you roll it over so they won’t splash on you.

I would cover and cook about 10 or 12 minutes. While they are doing this put your butter and milk in a saucepan and heat till butter melts. Remove the lid and check for softness. When done I will drain all the water that I can and put them back on the stove eye. Stir all the time. When they stop steaming remove from eye and start to whip with a mixer, adding your milk and butter till they are as thin as you want. Then season with salt and pepper to suit your tastes.

Old Timey Cornbread Dressing

Cornbread Dressing from Way Back

You can make it a day ahead!

What You’ll Need:

1 - 8 in. pone of cornbread
3 stale biscuits (I would not use canned biscuits. They won’t crumble well)
(The following are optional. You do not have to have them)
2 cups medium chopped onions
3 cups medium chopped celery
1 cup medium chopped bell peppers
1 tablespoon sage
2 teaspoon black pepper
2 cups chicken broth
4 tablespoons butter

1) Heat broth to about 300 degrees.
2) Crumble cornbread and biscuits in a mixing bowl, add sage and pepper.
3) Add your butter to your pan with heat on med-high then add your veggies and start to stir (don’t let it brown). If you need to add a little water and cook till they are soft don’t leave much water in them. Pour into bread mix and mix well then add the hot broth a little at a time (you don’t won’t it sloppy or dry. I can’t tell you how much to use because it depends on how dry your bread mix is.)
4) Let it sit about 10 minutes to see if you need to add any more broth.
5) Then place in an ovenware dish. (Note: it is ready to eat now.)

6) Take one egg and a little water, mix. Brush over the top, put it in a 350 oven and watch till it browns. You can check the temp. If it is 300 turn on your broiler and brown. Watch it, do not burn!

Country Baked Ham

Country Baked Ham (approx. 12lbs)
I now use what they call a smoked ham. It is precooked and that makes it quick and easy, and you can do it days before. You can warm it up that morning, or serve cold. Ha! That’s the GOOD part.

What you’ll need:

1 smoked ham, you know what size you want.
1/2 cup of real molasses (I use muddy pond brand & most Kroger stores have it)
4 heaping tablespoons of prepared mustard
1 heaping tablespoon of black pepper
1 heaping teaspoon of garlic powder
1 teaspoon (level) ground cloves

1) Mix it all together in a soup bowl.
2) Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit
3) Lay it down with round side up and cut about 1/4 inch deep on an angle about 1 ½ inches apart in 2 directions to make a diamond. Now rub the spices in good. Be sure that it is in all of the cracks. I now make a cross out of heavy duty aluminum foil and seal GOOD with both pieces of foil. Put it on a cookie sheet and into the oven for 30 minutes then roll it over a couple of times. Put it back in for 30 minutes. Turn your oven off and the broiler on. Then unwrap the top 1/2 and save that juice. I will place 7 slices of pineapple, 3 on top & 2 on each side, and use toothpicks. Add 1 big red cherry in the center of each. Place under the broiler and WATCH CLOSELY as soon as it starts to brown get it out!!! Let it sit for at least 15 minutes before you slice.

Thin slices of ham are much better than thick ones!!

The Best Bird

Let’s start with our turkey. If you get a frozen one it will take a while to thaw it out. (NOTE: DO NOT USE HOT WATER OR ANY FORM OF HEAT TO THAW WITH, AS THIS CAN LEAD TO BACTERIAL SPREAD) I prefer to place it in the fridge for 2 or 3 days. DO NOT UNWRAP until it has thawed. The time it takes will depend on the size of your bird.

Remove from wrapper, then remove the giblets from the front and rear of the bird. That will be a neck, gizzard, heart, and liver. Place those a saucepan, cover with plenty of water, add salt, pepper, and a 1/4 teaspoon of ground sage and boil until tender. Set aside to cool.
Now wash your turkey and pat dry, then sit on a platter and rub with butter. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Now take a heaping tablespoon of rubbed sage, 1 tablespoon of salt and 1 teaspoon black pepper and mix. Now place about 1/4 of it in the craw cavity and 3/4 inside the bird and rub around.
Now make a cross of heavy duty aluminum foil make sure that it will be long enough cover the entire turkey. Wrap, seal, and place on a cookie sheet. Keep in the fridge until ready to bake. When baking use 350 degree F oven, and bake for 20 minutes per pound. (IT WILL BE DONE!!)

Be very careful, for it will be very hot. Now place it over the edge of your sink so you can drain all of the juices into a sauce pan to use for gravy. Now wrap it back up in the aluminum foil, and cover with a bath towel.

Remove all the giblets from the broth and add the juices. What I would do is to heat the liquid and make a slurry with some corn starch and cold water. As soon as they boil, add a little cornstarch at a time and bring to a boil after you add the starch. You want turkey gravy about as thick as heavy cream. When finished, salt and pepper to taste. If you want to make some giblet gravy pull the meat off the neck, gizzard, heart and liver and fine chop, then take what gravy you want to be giblet and add the giblets.

What I always want is to have my house smelling like turkey and pie. I have two ovens, one regular size and one small. I put an apple pie in 50 minutes before our guest arrive. I want my turkey out one hour before they get here.

Remember: 20 minutes per pound and one hour to let it rest

If you are having a noontime meal, you will need to be up by 5 to get it out by noon. I don’t do that. I have mine at 6 p.m., so I have all day to get it done.

Sweet Tater Pie

You may think that we are starting this backwards. But you may want to try this and see if you like it. Remember the last thing they eat is the one they will most likely remember.

This is a true southern dish because we had sweet taters all the time. They kept good. This is the one that I am making today.

Sweet Tater Pie

The first thing to do is to bake your taters. I do this by washing them good, and letting them dry. Then rub them good with hog lard, and place them on a sheet pan. I will put them on the top shelf and bake until soft. The time will depend on how big they are. I will bake them the day before, and let them sit out (do not refrigerate).

What you need:

1- 9in. pie shell in a 9 in. pie plate
You can make your own but I now take the easy way out and get them at the grocery.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. I take the top rack out, and put pie on middle shelf.

1 and 1/3 cup baked sweet taters (packed)
1 and 1/2 cup milk (I use skim)
3 Large Eggs
1 cup of sugar or Splenda, I use it because I am diabetic
1/2 tsp salt
1 and 1/4 tsp cinnamon (level)
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp cloves

Some will use more spices than I do. You can taste it before it is baked. I do not want to overdo it, so that all you taste is the spices and you can’t tell the difference between sweet taters and pumpkin.

Dump everything in a bowl and mix with a wire whip. Next pour into your shell and put into oven. Bake for 35 minutes. Check if the crust is getting brown. Make hole in a piece of aluminum foil so it will cover about 1 and 1/2 inches on the outside, and lay on pie.

Now if you are lucky enough to have a pie shield, now is the time to use it because a burned crust will ruin the best pie. Finish baking for about 20 minutes, check the center. It should be firm.

NOTE: You can make a pumpkin pie the same way. I like to use canned pumpkin because it does not have the juice as home cooked does. You can make pumpkin or sweet tater pudding by leaving out the crust. A gob of real whipped cream won’t hurt it a bit.

May the good Lord bless you and Yours!

Smoking Chicken, A How-To

I guess I should start out by saying there is a lot more to Bar-B-Q’ing than building a fire and throwing a piece of meat on it.

Let’s smoke some chicken. We will always use thighs.

MMMmmmmm Look at this yummy chicken!

For Mouthwatering chicken like that, I use 10 phases:
1) Preparation
2) Marinate
3) Fire up your smoker
4) Add dry rub
5) Let rest
6) Place on grill & set probes
7) Cook
8) Mop
9) Arrange on platter
10) Serve.

1) We want thighs that are the same size or close to it. Hold them with the skin down in your hand. Remove any excess fat and lose meat.

2) Place the thighs in a zip-lock bag and cover good with marinate. Place in fridge.

3) Fire up your smoker and get it stabilized to 300 degrees Fahrenheit. This is by far the hardest part. This is when you want to smoke it for 1-1/2 hours with wood or wood chips. Then go to charcoal.

Let’s stop here because I am speaking of real smokers. If you have a gas grill all you have to do is to create smoke. If your grill does not have a smoke unit, you can use a cast iron skillet and place it down on your burners to make a smoker. You should use some hickory and about twice as much apple. But you can use any hardwood (BUT NOT ANY EVERGREEN).

Did you know that you can get the Maverick remote thermometers? That are very reasonably priced and a must to have control of your temperatures. I can’t express enough how important that a stable temperature is. You need to always know the temp next to your meat and inside it (And NOT what it is up in the top of your grill) ALL THE TIME

We use thighs all the time because it will not dry out like white meat and they will usually be the same size. You are better off to trim off some to make them cook evenly then to have some that are not done.

4) Next we need to add the dry rub. Dry rub what’s that?? There are all kinds on the market. But I make mine by using:
12 Tablespoons Brown Sugar
2 teaspoons Kosher Salt
1 teaspoon Chili Powder
3 teaspoons Paprika
1/4 teaspoon Granulated Garlic
1/4 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
1/4 teaspoon Black Pepper
1/4 teaspoon Poultry Seasoning

To apply, remove chicken from marinate and pat off excess. Take your finger and run it under the skin in a couple of spots and add some dry rub in there (not a lot). Now cover the skin well with mayo. I take 8 round toothpicks and place the thigh in my hand, skin side up and pull the skin as far around as I can and secure with a toothpick, about 4 to the side. With poultry scissors, cut to 1/2 inch sticking out. Now sprinkle well all over with dry rub. (Don’t rub it!)

5) Let it rest about 10 min.

6) Place the meat on a cookie cooling rack (skin side up) so you can put them on all at once and lift them off when finished. You will conserve heat by doing this. Into the smoker they go. I will set one probe by the side of the meat without touching the meat or the grate. This is the pit probe. Then I place one into the fleshy side of the thigh about halfway through without touching the bone.

7) Cook. Smoke for 1 hour, and spray with apple juice and turn over wait 1/2 hour and spray again. Don’t add anymore wood. Go to your other heat source.

8) Now is the time to turn DOWN the temperature to 230 –240 and MOP and I don’t mean the floor! We make a finishing sauce and what it consist of is nothing but 2 parts of Lil’ Red Barn Bar-B-Q sauce and 1 part of honey.

At this point, they are still on there backs. So mop this side, turn over, mop the skin side, wait 15 min, and mop the skin side again. Cook for 15 to 30 minutes, until done with internal thermometer reading about 160 degrees Fahrenheit.

9) This is one of the most important steps, and that is Presentation. Always remember, if it DOES NOT LOOK GOOD then it is most likely that your guest won’t think it is.

10) Serving. Do not put your platter of chicken on the table before they are seated. Let them wait on it. Anxiety will build up their approval.

I have moved up a notch by installing Bar-B-Q Guru’s. They will regulate your temperature to within 2 degrees Fahrenheit or Celsius, A/C or D/C. If you would like more information about the Bar-B-Q Guru, let me know and I will give you what they do for me along with log sheets that I am going to keep on each cooking.

Fried Green 'Maters & How to can them!

This one goes so far back that I can’t even tell you when it started and I’m 79. My grandma said that her grandma did it this way. That is back to the Civil War days.

You will need

Pan hot grease (I would use lard but you can use shortening)
I would use a cast iron skillet (you use whatever you have )

Green tomatoes, sliced about 3/8 in thick (they can be turning pink)
1 part whole egg, ½ part water, mixed
salt –n- pepper
½ cup Self Rising flour
1 cup corn meal mix

1) Heat grease until when you drop a bit of ‘mater in it sizzles.

2) Salt-n-pepper the ‘maters, then roll in flour. Now dip in egg wash, then into the corn meal, and into the hot grease. Fry very quick, till a golden brown.

3) Remove and place on a paper towel to blot off any grease. Then lightly salt.

Here is another goodie

Canning Green Tomatoes to Fry

1) Have jars clean with new tops

2) In a sauce pan, add water by the cup and add ½ teaspoon salt for each cup of water. Bring to a boil

3) Take green tomatoes, slice them 3/8 in thick and drop in boiling water till they start to turn grey. Remove and place in the jars.

4) Then pour full of the boiling salt water. Now seal. They will be good in the winter.

Corn Pone

Let’s make some cornbread!

Ingredients

You will need a 6”cast iron skillet
1 cup white corn meal mix
½ cup Buttermilk
1 tbsp Vegetable oil
2 heaping tbsp of Self Rising flour
¼ cup water

1) Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. Spray your skillet with PAM.

2) Then mix white corn meal mix, vegetable oil, flour, buttermilk, and water. You may need to add a little more liquid.

3) You want it to pour out of your mixing bowl in to your skillet and level it up by shaking it.

4) Put it in your oven. I won’t say how long because each oven is different, but start checking after 20 minutes. Cook until it is good and brown. Then put a plate on top and flip it over.

Serve it with the bottom up. It looks better. It is a must to have PLENTY of butter!!!

Vegetable Soup

1 or 2 ham hocks
1 quart of tomatoes (fresh chopped)
1 cup of cooked white beans
½ cup diced celery
1 med. onion
1 ½ cups chopped cabbage
2 cups diced potatoes
3 med. carrots, diced
2 ears of corn, cut off
salt and pepper


1) Cover ham hocks with water and boil for about 1 hour.

2) Add onions, potatoes, corn, tomatoes, celery, cabbage and carrots. Cook until tender, then add cooked beans, salt, and pepper to taste.

Dave’s Mandated Side Item: “Now a pone of cornbread and a gob of real butter is a must.” So we will add a recipe for it.

Intro

Hello friends and neighbors!

Welcome to my new blog for Foods of the Southland! You'll be delighted to know that this improvement will help you all by allowing you to send the newsletter, our updates and recipes, and everything else we intend to post (even videos!) without the possibility of them deleting it as spam! You can just send them the link to this blog! After all, you know I don't cook with SPAM!

As a matter of fact, to start out this new adventure and in the next few days, I'm going to post a recipe that none of you have EVER seen before!! So stay tuned!!

The best is yet to come!!

But first -- I must introduce myself -- So I wrote a little something for all of you:

I am David (Dave) Franks, Author, Pit Master and Flunky!!!

This is my first time at bloggin’. For all of you that have been getting our newsletter, a lot of this will be sour grapes. But the new ones might get something out of it. I was born in Whitehaven, Tennessee. That is now part of Memphis. I went to Whitehaven School; the grammar and high schools were all together. My Grandmother was the first teacher hired there. My Grandfather was the first doctor there, and my great uncle was the first dentist. I started cooking (helping) when I was 4 or 5. The biggest thing that I did was bring in the wood, keep the fire going, and the stirring. We raised, canned, dried and cured a lot of meat by using sugar, salt, red pepper, black pepper and smoking. We would sit around the fire and listen to the battery radio and shell corn to take to the grist mill the next day on the back of our mule to make meal. We would take butter and eggs to the country store and they would credit us for them. Then, when we needed some things, they would debit our account.

When I was growing up, there were only three Bar-B-Q joints in the Memphis area that I can remember. The one in Memphis is where I got my eating sauce recipe from, the one down at Bullfrog Corner, Mississippi is where my basting sauce recipe came from. I learned how to Bar-B-Q at J.C. Harbin's while working for him because he was our sponsor for the Doc Hollom River race. We would swim 5 or 10 miles down the Mississippi river. As most of you know, I have a cookbook out, Foods of the Southland, with over 250 good Southern recipes.

We are putting our Lil' Red Barn Bar-B-Q sauce on the market real soon. We plan on getting into competitive Bar-B-Q’ing next year. I am building a new pair of smokers that are trailer mounted and enclosed in a Lil' Red Barn.

If anyone would like a good old southern recipe, just let me know. If I don’t have it, I can get them. Something that I forgot to mention was that I now live in Maynardville, Tennessee. Just in case someone does not know where that is, well it is about 12 miles northeast of Knoxville, TN. The University of Tennessee, Oak Ridge, and Gatlinburg are all within a stones throw of our house. Maynardville is located in Union County, and was the home of Roy Acuff, Carl Smith, and my wife, Betty, and me! Ha!

I try to do a lot of cookouts (just for fun, not for hire). And being that the gardens and a lot of fresh veggies are plentiful, let’s talk about cooking them. Let’s start with fried green matoes. (You will be getting some Hillbilly now and then). We may not talk good, but we sho’ do eat good.