Soul food for all souls - includes recipes

Ebony, August, 1991 by Charlotte Lyons

BARBECUED RIBS

6 pounds spareribs

Water 1 cup bottled Italian salad dressing

Barbecue Sauce

Cover spareribs with water in large pan. Cook over low heat 1 hour, drain. Place ribs in shallow baking dish. Pour salad dressing over ribs. Cover; refrigerate and let marinate 4 hours, turning occasionally.

Cover and grill ribs 5 to 6 inches from medium coals, brushing with Barbecue Sauce every 5 minutes until ribs are done and meat begins to pull away from bone, 15 to 20 minutes. Serve with remaining sauce.

OVEN METHOD: Place marinated ribs in baking pan and spoon barbecue sauce over ribs. Bake at 450 [Degree] for 30 minutes or until done.

BARBECUE SAUCE

1/2   cup chopped onion
2     tablespoons butter or margarine

2 1/2 cups ketchup

1/2   cup brown sugar
1/3   cup Worcestershire
2     tablespoons hot sauce
1     tablespoon prepared mustard
1     tablespoon vinegar
1/4   teaspoon ground cloves

Cook onion in butter in saucepan until tender. Stir in remaining ingredients. Simmer 5 minutes; stir often.

HOECAKES

1 cup white cornmeal

Salt to taste 3/4 cup boiling water

2 tablespoons bacon fat, butter or

vegetable oil

Combine the cornmeal and salt in medium bowl. Stirring cornmeal mixture constantly with spoon, pour in boiling water in a slow stream and beat until smooth. Let stand a few minutes. Heat a large heavy skillet with bacon fat, butter or oil until hot. For each hoecake drop about 2 tablespoons cornmeal mixture into skillet of hot drippings or oil and pat into flat circles, about 4 inches in diameter. Cook hoecakes about 2 minutes on each side or until golden brown, turning them with a wide spatula. If needed, add more fat to pan for remaining cakes. Serve hoecakes at once.

Makes about 8 hoecakes

FRIED CATFISH

2 pounds pan dressed catfish

1/2 cup yellow cornmeal 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt, optional

1/4 teaspoon pepper

Vegetable oil

If fish fillets are large, cut into serving-size pieces. Combine cornmeal, flour, salt and pepper. Coat fish in cornmeal mixture.

Heat vegetable oil (1/2-inch) in skillet until hot. Fry fish in hot oil over medium heat, until golden brown on both sides, turning carefully, about 10 minutes.

Makes 6 servings

GREENS WITH SMOKED HAM

HOCKS

2 smoked ham hocks

1 1/2 quarts water

1 to 2 hot pepper pods or 1 teaspoon

crushed red pepper

3     cloves garlic, crushed
4     pounds fresh collard, turnips, kale or

mustard greens (or mixture)

1 teaspoon sugar

Salt to taste

Place hocks in Dutch oven or large saucepan; add water, pepper pods and garlic. Cover. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer 2 hours or until hocks are tender. Break off stems of greens. Wash leaves thoroughly. Slice leaves into bite-size pieces by rolling several leaves together and slicing in 1/4-inch strips. Add greens, sugar and salt to hocks. Cook 30 to 40 minutes or until greens are done.

Makes 8 to 10 servings

BANANA PUDDING

1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed

milk (not evaporated milk) 1 1/2 cups cold water

1 0.9-ounce package instant vanilla

pudding mix

2     cups whipping cream, whipped
36    vanilla wafers
3     medium bananas, sliced

Combine sweetened condensed milk and water in large bowl. Add pudding mix; beat well. Chill 5 minutes. Fold in whipped cream. Spoon 1 cup pudding mixture into 2 1/2-quart serving bowl. Top with one-third each of the wafers, bananas and pudding. Repeat layering twice, ending with pudding. Cover; chill. Garnish as desired. Refrigerate leftovers.

Makes 8 servings

OLD-FASHIONED POUND CAKE

1 1/2 cups butter or margarine, softened

3     cups sugar
1     tablespoon vanilla
1     teaspoon lemon extract
1     tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1     teaspoon grated lemon rind
6     eggs
3     cups all-purpose flour
1     teaspoon baking powder
1/4   teaspoon salt
1/2   cup evaporated milk

Heat oven to 325 [Degrees]. Grease and flour 10-inch tube pan. Beat butter in large mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Add sugar 1/2 cup at a time, creaming well after each additions. Stir in vanilla, lemon extract, juice and rind. Add eggs, one at a time, blending well after each addition. Sift together flour, baking powder and salt; add to creamed mixture alternately with milk. Stir thoroughly after each addition. Pour into prepared pan. Bake until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean, 70 to 80 minutes. Cool 20 minutes; remove from pan.

Makes 1 cake

PEACH FRIED PIES

2 6-ounce packages dried peaches

1/2 cup sugar

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Egg pastry

Vegetable oil

Cook peaches according to package direction; drain and mash. Combine with sugar, lemon juice and spices. Roll out pastry; cut into 5-inch rounds. Place 3 tablespoons peach filling on half of each round. Moisten edges with water; fold in half, pressing edges together with fork to seal. In skillet, fry pies in 1-inch of hot oil (375 [Degrees]) until golden brown on each side, turning only once. Drain well on paper towels.

EGG PASTRY

3   cups all-purpose flour
1   teaspoon salt, optional
1   cup shortening
1   egg, beaten
4   tablespoons cold water
1   teaspoon vinegar