Day 78 Southern (USA)

Edna Lewis, the Grand Dame of Southern Cooking and Chef Scott Peacock were an unlikely pair, she being the granddaughter of freed slaves and he a young white man, but the two of them made magic in the kitchen and changed the way the world looked at Southern cooking. Today's menu is taken from their collaboration-The Gift of Southern Cooking. Southern Fried Chicken and Sweet Potato Pie- dinner's on.....

The chicken goes through an elaborate ritual before it becomes edible in this version of Fried chicken and is worth the extra work. The day I bought the chicken, it was cleaned inside and out, cut it into large pieces and soaked overnight in cold water and Kosher salt. The next morning the chicken was drained and a full quart of buttermilk was poured over and left for a good 8 hours until dinner time. The chicken pieces were drained once more over a wire mesh and dredged in seasoned flour before frying to a crisp ( I used vegetable oil although lard was recommended).

The Sweet Potato Pie was made with prepared store bought pie dough rolled out and laid over a Pyrex pie dish. The pastry was docked (holes made) and the filling poured in. The filling was made with roasted sweet potatoes mashed together with sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon, vanilla extract, butter, salt, egg yolks and milk. Egg whites were whipped separately and folded into the mixture. The pie was baked at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes.

Both recipes were fool-proof; the chicken was tender and crisp, the pie was like a prelude to the season.

Southwest coming up next....