Potlucks, picnics and family traditions

Feeding an army is something that we Southern women do well. So far this month, my church had an outdoor service and potluck picnic. Then I spent Labor Day hanging out with my family and brought dessert. Then last weekend was the Hunton family (Mom's side) reunion on Sunday. Suffice to say, it's been a busy month in my kitchen!

When I was little, the family reunion was a huge deal, involving descendants (mostly) of my great grandparents. They had five children, and my grandparents had eleven, which means that I have a LOT of family out there. The reunion is always held at the Marietta Campmeeting -- an old Methodist revival campground. As a child, it was a chance to play with dozens of seldom-seen cousins and drink lemonade from a giant metal washtub perched at the end of a 20-foot long picnic table that was literally packed end-to-end with fried chicken, ham and every southern side dish you could imagine.

The pic is my great grand-father (kneeling) and his brothers at a family reunion in the 1930s, me with my cousin Whitney in the late 80s, and the campmeeting church today.

Potlucks aren't about fancy food, or things that don't travel well, or that just don't "go" with other foods. It's all about pure southern comfort, and for that, here are two great models, and two great recipes that I've made for these recent events.

For the church potluck, it was corn pudding from Pat Conroy's cookbook.  My all-time favorite southern writer, that cookbook is as much of a treat to read as it is to cook from.  This particular recipe has become one of my favorites - it's not gummy or heavy, like the corn pudding most people make from a boxed cornbread mix. It's light, fluffy and absolutely delicious. 

Pat Conroy's Corn Pudding

1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/4 cup sugar
3 tbsp all-purpose flour
1/2 cup evaporated milk
2 large eggs
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
2 12-oz bags frozen corn

Melt butter - whisk in sugar, flour, milk, eggs and baking powder until smooth. Stir in corn and pour into l2-quart casserole dish (spray with pam or melted butter first). Bake at 350 for 45-60 minutes -- firm and lightly browned on top.

For the reunion, I pretty much HAVE to bring buttermilk pie. The recipe is from my Aunt Gladys, and I remember it from every family-get-together growing up. If you're not southern and think buttermilk pie sounds weird, just wait until you try this sweet and tangy custard.

Aunt Gladys' Buttermilk Custard

3 eggs
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) butter, melted
2 tbsp flour
dash salt
2 cups buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla extract
uncooked deep dish pie crust

Cover pie edges with foil so they won't over-brown and preheat oven to 350. Beat eggs, then mix in butter, flour, sugar, baking powder, vanilla and buttermilk. Pour into pie crust and bake 30-40 minutes until golden. Cool completely before eating (it's actually better the second day).

Love and Pound Cake

A little while back, my father gave me an old set of pyrex mixing bowls that belonged to my mother. Sturdy, serviceable bowls that I saw millions of times throughout my childhood.  

Yesterday was Mother’s Day, and I missed my mom terribly. As I was fixing dinner last night, I thought about how many meals took shape in those bowls.   Biscuits on Saturday mornings.  Cornbread for weeknight suppers. The dressing every Thanksgiving.  Birthday cakes, cookies, brownies for treats. I close my eyes and I see Mom standing at the kitchen counter, with me watching.  Learning.

I learned to cook from watching my mother. What I didn’t realize – and she probably didn’t either – is that she was also teaching me about love. So often, we express our love in what we do for others. When I cook for family and friends, it’s a big, messy, delicious “I love you” to the people in my life. And I think my mom would like that.

And I think that’s a good way to start sharing some of my favorite recipes here… so first up is my current favorite variation on the first thing I cooked for myself – a pound cake. I made my first pound cake when I was 16 from the Southern Living Cookbook, which is still my go-to bible for southern cooking. When I moved out on my own, I unashamedly stole that cookbook from Mom’s shelf – how else was I going to survive on my own? To my credit, I gave her a new copy for the next Mother’s Day.

Since then I’ve probably made hundreds of pound cakes. They remain one of my favorite things to cook.  This particular version came in a later copy of Southern Living. I love the tart freshness of the lime, and I think it’s an ideal cake to enjoy on the patio with friends and family as the weather gets warmer.

Key Lime Pound Cake

From Southern Living via allrecipes.com

What You Need:

1 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup shortening

3 cups sugar

6 large eggs $

3 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 cup milk $

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon lime zest

1/4 cup fresh Key lime juice

For the Glaze:

1 cup powdered sugar

2 tablespoons fresh Key lime juice

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

How to Make It:

1. Preheat oven to 325°. Beat butter and shortening at medium speed with a heavy-duty electric stand mixer until creamy. Gradually add sugar, beating at medium speed until light and fluffy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating just until blended after each addition.

2. Stir together flour, baking powder, and salt. Add to butter mixture alternately with milk, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat at low speed just until blended after each addition. Stir in vanilla, lime zest, and lime juice. Pour batter into a greased and floured 10-inch (12-cup) tube pan.

3. Bake at 325° for 1 hour and 15 minutes to 1 hour and 20 minutes or until a long wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack 10 to 15 minutes; remove from pan to wire rack.

4. Whisk glaze ingredients in a small bowl and immediately brush over top and sides of cake. Cool completely (about 1 hour).