"Southerners can't stand to eat alone. If we're going to cook a mess of greens we want to eat them with a mess of people."
Julia Reed
I love the quote above. While some people may not think there is a distinctive difference in Southern cooking and other cooking those who have grown up here will disagree. Having a mother from South Carolina, a father from Virginia, and a grandmother from Mississippi I grew up learning that not only are there typical foods distinctive to the south (greens, hoppin' johns, fried chicken, etc...) it is almost more of a cultural thing than it is a type of food. I was raised learning that you invite friends over as often as possible, you give your extra cookies or baked goods to neighbors, and you always make a pound cake for a friend who has lost a loved one. So when I came across this quote I thought it fit perfectly. For this post I am sharing with you the simple love of cooking in the South, particularly in using a cast iron skillet and making fabulous green beans. I hope you enjoy the simplicity as much as I do.
Cooking with a cast iron skillet
A cast iron skillet is something that is needed in every kitchen. It is a great tool for non-stick cooking as you don't have to oil the skillet before you cook (if it is seasoned already) and it doesn't have the dreaded Teflon that can scrape off into your dish. It is best to get a cast iron skillet passed down to you. I was blessed enough to be given 2 by my grandmother. There were perfectly seasoned (I'll describe what that means soon) and dark black. For those of you who don't have or have never used cast iron you probably don't understand what is meant by "seasoned". This is not the same as salting and peppering your chicken so please don't dash out to your local kitchen supply store, buy a pan and try to season it like this. When referring to a cast iron pan "seasoned" somewhat means "prepared". This is when your pan has acquired a non-stick surface and has been flavored by the endless dishes cooked in the past. Now if you do have to buy a non-seasoned cast iron you can make it seasoned yourself (it's not quite the same but works). To do this simply wipe the inside of the pan with an oil or lard coated paper towel and cook in the oven at 200 for about 3 hours. Make sure when cooking to have your skillet upside down in the oven (with a pan on the rack underneath to catch drips) this will help the oil not to pool in the skillet. Repeat this a few times and you will have a pan that is "mock-seasoned". You can also re-season your skillet by wiping with bacon grease, lard, etc... Another great way to maintain the non-stick is to make a high-grease food (such as canned biscuits) in it every now and then.
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| Lodge Cast Iron Guitar |
Now there is a great distributor called Lodge Manufacturers that makes pre-seasoned pans that come with all that work done for you (albeit they aren't as great as one that's handed down from grandma). They are more expensive but are worth it if you don't want to risk not seasoning one correctly. To find out more about Lodge Skillets you can visit them online at
http://www.lodgemfg.com/. While you're at it check out their cast iron guitar skillet (pictured to the right) how cute is that??? Would be perfect for a cowboy-themed party filled made with cooked cornbread right in the guitar. Make sure to maintain your cast iron skillet by not using soap!!!! This will ruin the seasoning. To clean rinse quickly and place back in a warm oven to dry and cook off any bacteria (if you don't place in oven your skillet may rust due to the water). If you have really bad stuck on food you can make a past out of salt and a little bit of water and scrub with a cloth until food is removed, rinse and place in oven. That's the basics of the cast iron skillet.
I've included 2 recipes below, 1 in which the skillet is used and the other is just a simple southern green bean recipe. The skillet chicken is a hit it's super simple to make, impressive in presentation and tastes great. As for the southern style green beans, the hubby and I love green beans and I'm always looking for ways to improve the recipe. I've been making them for years and just recently feel like I finally got the perfect combination of ingredients. As for the beans, you can use fresh (will take longer to cook) or canned but if using canned please make sure to rinse them! Nothing is worse than "canny" sodium filled green beans. Enjoy!
Skillet Teriyaki Chicken
Ingredients:
2-4 chicken breasts
1/3 cup teriyaki sauce
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| Chicken with Teriyaki Glaze |
1/8 cup Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp reduced sodium soy sauce
sprinkle of cayenne pepper
With a fork poke several holes into the chicken breasts
Combine remaining ingredients in a bowl (or gallon size Ziploc bag works great)
Marinate chicken for about 30 minutes
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
On stove top get your skillet extremely hot
Sear both sides of chicken breasts
Pour marinade into skillet on top of chicken
Move skillet to the oven (another benefit of using cast iron - only 1 pan)
and cook until thoroughly cooked
Once cooked pour off remaining juices into a small sauce pot or skillet
Reduce until made into a slightly thick glaze
Slice chicken breasts and plate them
Top with teriyaki glaze
Southern Style Green Beans
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| You can see the green beans off to the side |
Ingredients:
3 cans of green beans
4 slices of bacon
salt
water
1/4 cup vinegar
1 medium sized vidalia onion
In a large pot (or dutch oven) cook bacon until crispy (remove and drain on paper towels) leave bacon grease in the pot
Meanwhile mince onions and open beans and drain/rinse
Add minced onions to the pot and cook until slightly soft
Add beans, salt, vinegar and enough water to cover
Use a wooden spoon to scrape the bottom of the pot (the vinegar will pull the flavors and bits off the bottom of the pan and allow them to incorporate through your beans)
Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer
Simmer for at 30 minutes or as long as you have
I feel the longer your beans cook the more homemade they taste (but don't make them mushy!)
Serve with crumbled crisp bacon on top
Make sure when you store the beans in the fridge (leftovers) store them with the juice, as southerners know when it comes to greens and beans the juice is super important,. also known as pot liquor (or potlikker as my grandmother would have spelled it).
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