1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Cut Yukon Gold and sweet potatoes into 1/8-inch-thick slices with a handheld slicer or sharp knife, keeping potato varieties separate.
2. Brush an ovenproof 10-inch nonstick skillet with butter. Starting in center of pan, arrange about 20 Yukon Gold slices, slightly overlapping, in a circular pattern, covering surface. Brush with butter and generously season with salt and pepper. Make another layer with sweet-potato slices; brush with butter and season. Repeat, alternating Yukon Gold and sweet-potato slices. Drizzle any remaining butter on top of potatoes.
3. Place skillet over medium-high heat and cook until butter vigorously bubbles in pan, about 4 minutes. Transfer to oven and bake 30 minutes. Tent loosely with foil and continue to bake until potatoes are easily pierced with a knife, about 20 minutes more. Remove from oven. Run a small rubber spatula around edges of potatoes to loosen. Carefully invert onto a plate and cut into wedges.

 

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Eula’s Chicken and Dumplings

My grandmother was famous in our town for her chicken and dumplings. They have to be one of the ultimate comfort foods, in my humble opinion. She always made them for our monthly church suppers. I believe she might have been turned out of the church had she shown up without her chicken and dumplings. I am the only family member who makes her recipe now that she is gone. I use the antique pot that she used, and it is always scraped clean to the bottom when dinner is finished. Don’t let anyone tell you that chicken and dumplings are difficult to make. They are not! Just do it! Your family will thank you.

1 chicken, stewed and deboned with some of the skin remaining

1 Quart or more Chicken broth

2 cups self rising flour

¼ cup chilled  lard, or if you must, Crisco shortening

Buttermilk

One stick REAL butter

1 TBSP salt

1 scant TBSP black pepper

To be honest, these amounts are negotiable. Grandmother Colwell did not give amounts in her recipe and so I just guess about everything. These are really easy, I promise.

Stew the chicken in large pot of water and/or chicken broth. Pull off the bone. Make very firm dumpling dough. Again, I can’t really tell you how much buttermilk to use to make the dough. Just make a firm dough…not like soft biscuit dough. Allow the dough to rise in a warm place for up to 2 hours.

Bring chicken and broth to boil. Add in butter, salt and pepper. Boil for 1 hour. De-bone the critter. Using a slotted spoon remove half of the chicken from the pot.

Knead dough a couple of times on a floured surface and roll out very, very thin using a rolling pin. I usually roll out my dough in two batches. With a knife, cut strips of dumplings. I cut mine about 1 inch wide and 2-3 inches long. There is no science to this, so whatever suits you. Drop dumplings into boiling pot one at a time, allowing some of the flour from the surface to go into the pot along with the dough. The flour helps the liquid thicken. Once the first batch of dough is in the pot, turn the heat down a bit, cover the pot and allow to cook while you roll out and cut the second batch of dough.

Turn the heat back to high and drop the second batch of dumplings in the pot. Make sure you stir gently between batches so the chicken doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan. After the second batch of dumplings is in the pot, turn the heat to medium-high, replace the lid on the pot and allow to cook for about 10 minutes. Turn off the heat and let the dumplings sit until you are ready to eat.

I usually make my chicken and dumplings up to two hours before we want to eat them. This allows the liquid to thicken up a bit. I don’t re-warm them before serving, but you could.

Enjoy and know my Grandma Colwell is smiling on you!

 

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AL’S LEGENDARY COLLARD GREENS

I fully recognize that collard greens are an acquired taste. Many people do not like them, BUT they haven’t tried my recipe for them. For about 10 years, I fed close to 50 people every New Years Day. The menu was Beans ‘n Greens. We would have soup beans, black-eyed peas, these collard greens, and all the fixins. Even people who will not eat collards will eat these. I found the recipe in the Atlanta Journal Constitution in the early 2000s. Give ’em a try. 

It is best to cook these the day before serving. Leave them in the refrigerator overnight (with the ham hock) and reheat before serving.

 

2 pounds collard greens, about 6 cups

1 smoked ham hock

1/3 cup onion, chopped

2 tablespoons corn syrup

2 teaspoons salt, or to taste

2/3 cup vinegar

1 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

2/3 teaspoon hot sauce, to taste ( I usually omit this)

1/3 teaspoon garlic powder

1/3 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1/8 teaspoon white pepper

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

 

Cut off the tough stems of the collard greens and discard. Wash greens thoroughly. Coarsely chop leaves. Fill a large stockpot about half full of water. Add the remainder of the ingredients and bring to a boil. Add the chopped collards in batches, letting them cook down between additions so there is room to add more. When all the collards have been added, reduce heat and simmer about 3 hours. Freeze the left overs….if there are any!

 

Get a running start on Next Week’s Topic: “Thanksgiving” (Food, traditions, an essay or video, or just your own gratitude list. Maybe we’ll find some new ideas to incorporate into our celebration this year!)

 

 

Now it’s time to link up!

 

This Week’s Topic: “Fall Recipes”

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