Straight From North Carolina

This first meal to be posted is a perfect fit for this whole thing, as it is a very traditional meal for my mother to make. Growing up in the south there's nothing more standard than fried chicken, biscuits and mashed potatoes...well, and some broccoli.


My Mom.

Baked Mashed Potatoes (with sauteed shallots and garlic)

5 lb Yukon Gold potatoes
a stick of butter
a head of garlic
4 or 5 shallots

Peel and cut the potatoes into equal sized chunks and boil until soft (we overdid them). Mash and whip them to the consistency you like. Add a stick of butter and let it melt in.
Thinly slice the garlic and shallots. Saute shallots and garlic to however you like them...we made them nice and crispy. Mix them into the potatoes and add salt and pepper.

Put the potatoes in a cast iron skillet, grate cheese (we used cheddar, fontina, gruyere and parmesan) on top and bake at 400° until bubbling.


Buttermilk Biscuits

2.5 cups flour
2 Tbsp sugar
2.5 tsp backing powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 t salt
1 stick margarine
1 cup buttermilk

Preheat 425°. Mix dry ingredients together in a bowl. Cut the margarine into the dry stuff with a couple of knives until the mixture looks dry and crumbly. Add all of the buttermilk and stir briskly with a fork to make sticky dough. Sometimes you just use your hands to get it to stick together. Use flour until it looks smooth and feels soft. Pat it out to about 1/2 inch thick (use flour to keep it from sticking). Cut out the biscuits using a wine glass rim. Place on the pan so that they are just touching. Bake until raised and lightly browned, 12 to 14 min. The book says to put them in a "napkin-lined basket"...but we use plates. Watch out!
From the Baker's Dozen Cookbook

Fried Chicken

Chicken leg and thighs
2 cups flour
1 Tbsp salt
pepper
canola oil

First, my mom likes to soak in buttermilk for about an hour. While some people don't think this makes a difference, she swears it makes the meat more tender.

In a paper bag (not plastic) mixed the flour, salt, and some pepper. Three or four pieces at a time, shake the chicken around in the bag until well covered. (Using a grated rack over the sink to rest the finished breaded pieces of chicken works well so that the bottoms don't get gooey on the counter while they wait to be fried.)



In an electric skillet, cook the chicken on high heat (425ish) in 1/4- 1/2 inch of canola oil until one side is crispy. Turn them over, put the lid mostly on, and turn down the heat (300ish) and let it cook. Periodically check-in and turn. Will take at least 30 minutes.


Roasted Broccoli

Broccoli
salt
olive oil

In a roasting pan (or a bowl) mix the broccoli with oil and salt. However much salt you want, but enough oil to cover it all pretty well.

Roast at 425° for 15 minutes or so, then stir it around, may take 10 or more minutes. Cook it for longer or shorter depending on how crispy you want it.