Recipes

SOUTHERN CAVIAR SALAD

(from Confederate Home Cooking)
By Paticia B. Mitchell

This eye-catching salad is a Mitchell family favorite! Is is one of those recipes in which the sum of the taste/texture/smell of the ingredients is greater than the parts (by that I mean that you would not expect black- eyed peas, onion and seasonings to taste as good as they do in this combination)! Southern Caviar Salad is a glorious, cool, marinated beauty, perfect at lunchtine, or when it’s time to “tote something” to a church supper. Be sure to serve in a pretty glass bowl for optimum appeal.

3 ½ c. cooked or canned black-eyed peas, drained
½ c. purple (it’s so colorful) or white onion, chopped
½ c. green pepper, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
¼ c. vinegar
3 tbsp.vegetable oil
2 tbsp. sugar
½ tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. black pepper

Mix everything together. Chill 12 hours, at least. Drain off marinade before serving. Serves 6-8

Eileen Lehmberg

SWEET POTOATO BISCUITS

(From Plantation Row Slave Cabin Cooking-The Roots of Soul Food)
By Patricia B. Mitchell

In the South, during the Civil War, white flour was a luxury. It is said that sweet potatoes were added to biscuit dough so that the flour would go further. Whether a black or white lady first began doing this, who knows? But the resulting sweet potato biscuit recipes are delicious legacies.

1 lb. sweet potatoes, cooked and peeled(I used canned)
½ c. butter
½ c. sugar
Dash of salt
2 Tbsp. milk
3 ½ C. all-purpose flour
4 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. cinnamon

While the sweet potatoes are still hot, add the butter, sugar, salt and milk. (I put mine in the microwave) Mix well. In a separate container mix the flour, baking powder, and cinnamon. Stir the dry ingredients into the potato mixture: then knead it gently. (I added almost ¾ cup more of milk to make it knead better.) Chill the dough 2-3 hours. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to a ½ inch thickness, and cut out biscuits. Bake on a lightly greased cookie sheet at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes or until done.

(I got about 24 biscuits from one receipe)

Eileen Lehmberg