Ep. 4.14 Part 2! Food, Place and Family History: Stories of East Texas

Eva joins her mother & aunt at an East Texas table, where they discuss their family history, treasured family recipes, food and place, and the role that cooking & food have played and continue to play in shaping their identities and lives.

The winding roads near Crawford Creek. Photo cred. Eva Englert-Jessen.

DELICIOUS EATS

Peggy's recipe for chocolate pie. This recipe is for 2 shallow pies or one deep dish pie.

Ingredients:

1 pie crust

4 eggs, separated (Set aside whites for meringue)

1 1/4 cup sugar

4 Tbs cocoa powder

4 Tbs cornstarch

2 cups milk

Dash of salt

1 Tbs vanilla

1/4 stick unsalted butter

Pinch of salt

Heat over to 350 degrees. Brown crust for 10 - 12 minutes.

In a double boiler whisk together egg yolks, sugar, cocoa powder, cornstarch and milk, continually whisk, until it just begins to thicken. Do NOT boil. Turn off heat and add the butter and vanilla. Add salt to taste. 

Pour in browned crust.

For meringue:

Beat 4 egg whites with 1/8 - 1/4 tsp. of cream of tartar. After beating for a little bit and 1/4 cup of sugar. Beat until meringue forms stiff peaks. Spread on top of chocolate and bake for 15 - 20 minutes until peaks become a golden brown and chocolate is set.

Enjoy!

Crawford Creek Cornbread

Heat oven to 450 degrees.  Place a 10” to 12” well-seasoned cast iron skillet in oven.  Let the oven come to full temperature and let the pan get rippin’ hot (at least 20 minutes after the oven reaches 450 degrees).

After the oven and skillet are super-hot, pour into the skillet 2 to 3 tablespoons oil (grapeseed, vegetable, olive oil – not your best EVOO, though), and place it back in the oven while batter is prepared.

In a mixing bowl, stir together (you can use a whisk, but a fork works fine.  It’s what grandma used):

1 ½ cups cornmeal (organic stoneground, if you have it; the texture is awesome)

½ c flour (I use whole wheat pastry flour since we don’t cook with white flour these days)

1 – 2 t sugar (no more – we want this to be Southern-style)

1 t salt (Diamond Crystal kosher is my go-to)

2 t baking powder

(½ t baking soda if using buttermilk)

 Whisk the dry ingredients together, then add:

1 beaten large egg

1 c – 1 ¼ c milk (or buttermilk)

Whisk together quickly, just until the batter comes together.  If it seems dry, add more milk a splash at a time.  You want the mixture to be the consistency of thick cake batter, neither runny nor doughy.

Moving quickly (to lose as little heat as possible), pull out the skillet and set it on a hot pad; pour in the batter with a spatula.  The batter should sizzle as it hits the hot oil.

Slide it back in the oven, reduce the temperature to 425 degrees and set the timer for 15 minutes.

After 15 minutes, rotate the pan 180 degrees and set the timer for 5 minutes more.  You want the top to be golden brown with some dark spots and for the edges to be crispy.

Place cornbread in the skillet on a wire rack, and try to let it cool a bit before you slice it into wedges.  It will hold its heat and remain crispy for quite awhile in the skillet. 

When you’re ready, cut a wedge, split it, spread with some good butter, and enjoy!

Check out last week’s show notes (part I) for clickable links and fantastic reads related to southern food, history and more!