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| FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES |
| FOODS OF THE GOOD OLD USA |
| Welcome home my weary travelors. It sure is great to be back on good old American soil. However, be- fore we can safely curb our appetites and stow away our cooking gear, it is only fair to explore some of the wonderful dishes of our own country. After all, hasn't our nation been blessed with some of the best farming, fishing, and livestock ranches in the world? It stands to reason, therefore, that with all of our abundance, we should have some pretty wonderful dishes of our own. Lets check some of them out. |
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| A.) NEW ENGLAND BAKED BEANS W/BOSTON BROWN BREAD: |
| 3 1/2 cups of Great Northern white beans; 1/4 lb. salt pork; 1 large onion, peeled; 4 whole cloves; 1/4 cup light-brown sugar, packed; 2 tsps. salt; 2 tsps. dry mustard; 1 cup light molasses; 1 cup tomato catsup; 3 slices bacon, cut in half: BOSTON BROWN BREAD: 1 1/2 cups yellow cornmeal; 2 cups unsifted all-purpose flour; 2 tsps. baking soda; 1 tsp. salt; 1 1/3 cups of milk; 1 1/3 cups of buttermilk; 3/4 cup of dark molasses; 1 cup of dark raisins; boiling water: |
| 1.) Wash beans, discarding the imperfect ones. Cover beans with 2 qrts. cold water, and refrig- erate, covered, overnight. Turn beans and water into a 6-qrt. kettle. Bring to boiling; reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 1/2 hr. Drain and save the liquid. Preheat the oven to 300F. 2.) Trim the rind from the salt pork, and cut the pork almost through at 1/2" intervals. Stud the onion with the whole cloves, and place in the bottom of a 3 - 4 qrt. bean pot or casserole with a lid. Add the beans. Bury the pork, cut side down, in the center of the beans. Heat the bean cooking liquid to boiling. 3.) Combine the sugar, salt, mustard and light molasses; mix well. Stir in 1 cup of the boiling bean liquid. Pour this mixture over the beans, then add more of the boiling liquid to cover the beans - about 1 1/2 cups. Bake, covered, 3 hrs., (stirring once every hour, so beans cook evenly; add more water, if needed.) 4.) Remove from the oven, and stir in the catsup. If the beans seem dry after stirring, add a little more boiling water. Arrange the bacon strips over the top and bake, uncovered, for 1 hr. While the beans are cooking, make the Boston Brown Bread. Grease well, two 1 lb. size coffee cans. 5.) Sift the cornmeal, flour, baking soda and salt into a large bowl. In a small bowl, combine milk, buttermilk and dark molasses. Gradually add milk mixture to flour mixture, and beat with a spoon just until combined. Stir in the raisins, then spoon the mixture into the coffee cans, filling 2/3 full. Tie pieces of heavy aluminum foil tightly over the tops, and place the cans on a rack in a deep kettle. Add boiling water to the kettle to come halfway up the sides of the cans. Cover the kettle and steam for 2 1/2 to 3 hrs., adding more water as needed. Cool on a rack. Serve with the beans. Serves 10. |
| B.) SOUTHERN SWEET POTATO & BANANA CASSEROLE: |
| 4 lbs. sweet potatoes; boiling water; 1 tsp. salt; 6 medium bananas (about 2 1/2 lbs.); 1/4 cup of orange juice; 1/2 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed; 1/2 tsp. grnd. cinnamon; 4 tbls. butter or margarine: |
| 1.) Scrub the potatoes and place in a large saucepan with salt. Add boiling water to cover the potatoes. Bring back to a boil over high heat. Cover the pot and reduce the heat to low, simmer 30 - 35 mins., or until potatoes are tender. Drain, peel and cut crosswise into 1/4" slices. 2.) Preheat the oven to 375F. Using butter or margarine, thoroughly grease a 2 qrt. souffle dish or a deep casserole dish. Peel bananas and cut them crosswise into 1/4" thick slices. Place them in a medium-sized bowl and toss with orange juice. In another small bowl, mix brown su- gar with the grnd. cinnamon, and set aside. 3.) In the bottom of the prepared casserole dish, arrange one third of the potato slices in a single layer, overlapping slightly. Top with half of the banana slices and sprinkle 1/3 of the su- gar mixture. Dot with 1/3 of the butter. Repeat layering again with another third of the potatoes and the bananas, saving 12 banana slices for the top. Sprinkle with 1/3 of the sugar mixture and dot with 1/3 of the butter. 4.) Top with the remaining potatoes and arrange the 12 banana slices on top. Sprinkle with the remaining sugar mixture, and dot with the remaining butter and pour on the rest of the orange juice. Bake 45 minutes or until bubbly and very hot. Serves 12. |
| C.) LOUISIANA SHRIMP & VEGETABLE GUMBO: |
| 2 tbls. vegetable oil; 1 cup of chopped onion; 1 cup green peppers, chopped, seeded and cored; 1/2 cup chopped celery; 1 clove of minced garlic; 1 bay leaf; salt; 1/4 tsp. pepper; 1 can (1 lb., 12 oz.) whole peeled tomatoes, un- drained; 1 can (13 3/4 oz.) chicken broth; 2 1/2 cups water; 1 tbls. butter or margarine; 1 cup long-grain white rice; 1/2 lb. fresh raw shrimp in the shell; 1 10oz. pkg. frozen okra, thawed and cut into 1/2" wide pices; 2 tsps. of gumbo file powder; chopped parsley for garnish. |
| 1.) Put oil into a Large Dutch oven or kettle and heat over high heat. When the oil is very hot, add onion, green pepper, celery and garlic. Cook for about 5 mins., stirring frequently, un- til vegetables are quite tender but have not browned. Add the bay leaf, 1/2 tsp. salt, the pepper, undrained tomatoes with their liquid, and the chicken broth. Mash tomatoes with the back of a wooden spoon or a fork until well broken up. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 30 mins. |