Southern Recipes
376 recipes found
Pimento Cheese Pie
Savory and spicy pimento cheese is folded and baked into the most buttery pie dough around. Inspired by a beloved pimento cheese hand pie, this slab pie is made for a crowd and will become a fast favorite for parties. In the spirit of celebration, this dish is wholly about collaboration and combining one perfect recipe with another. Here, the pimento cheese recipe from chef Ashley Christensen is combined with my tried, tested and true pie dough to create something magical. This rich dough uses fraisage, a French technique that involves smearing butter with flour using the palm of your hand, creating a tender, flaky crust. Do not use a machine or a pastry cutter, as your hands are essential to helping you discern the temperature and feel of the dough.
Chicken Fried Steak
There is, in fact, no chicken in chicken fried steak. The name of the classic Southern dish refers to the batter — the sort typically used for fried chicken — which coats cube steak, whose perforated texture provides lots of little nooks and crannies for batter coverage. That, and a double dip in flour makes for a delightfully crisp crust. Season the flour with the salt and seasonings used here, or try 2 teaspoons of store-bought seasoned salt or Cajun seasoning. Chicken fried steak is traditionally draped with a simple white gravy made with flour, milk, butter and plenty of salt and pepper. Make it in a separate pan with butter for snowy white results, or recycle the pan and oil used for frying the steaks for a tawny, speckled gravy. Serve with fluffy mashed potatoes and a side of greens for the ultimate comfort food.
White Gravy
Smooth and creamy white gravy, one of the American South’s most beloved and versatile sauces, is really just a variation of béchamel, which was brought to Louisiana by French explorers in the 17th century. Excellent draped over chicken fried steak, biscuits or mashed potatoes, it comes together in no time. Start by making a white roux; this version uses butter, but you can also use bacon fat. To ensure the gravy doesn’t seize or clump, bring the milk to room temperature or heat it slightly, or slowly whisk in cold milk 1/2 cup at a time. Be mindful that the gravy will continue thickening off the heat, so remove it just before it reaches the desired consistency.
Pecan Pralines
To make pralines is to show a great deal of love and care for the recipient of these resplendent treats. This incredible tradition should be embraced: They are perfect to wrap in glassine bags and hand out one by one, or place in a tin by the dozen as gifts. They’re also perfect to eat standing up in your kitchen. A nod to the Louisiana gas station treats of yore, this version cuts through the sweetness with a bit of salt and vanilla paste. For Southerners, the pralines feel like a bit of a homecoming in their warm, sweet (with a bit of salty) nature.
Chocolate Chess Pie
Classic buttermilk chess pie is quintessential in many Southern homes and its chocolate counterpart is all the more decadent. You can use store-bought pie dough or take the homemade route because the true star of this dessert is its luxurious chocolate filling, slightly firmer than custard but fudgier than a brownie. With just a few staple ingredients, this supremely easy filling requires less than 10 minutes of active time and minimal effort, but yields big-time flavor. It’s also highly adaptable: try adding a tablespoon of bourbon or a couple teaspoons of espresso powder with the cocoa powder. A velvety slice of this chocolate chess pie goes best with a dollop of whipped cream on top, and some bourbon, neat, alongside.
Ambrosia Salad
In ancient Greek mythology, ambrosia is referred to as the food or drink of the gods, and in parts of America, some might agree, as the name is associated with a fluffy, marshmallow fruit salad that delights both kids and adults. Mandarin oranges and pineapple are typical to the dish, but other fruits, such as bananas, strawberries and grapes, can also be used. In this version, the fruit is mixed with shredded coconut and sweetened homemade whipped cream, but you can use an 8-ounce container of thawed frozen whipped topping for ease. Feel free to adjust the sweetness of the salad to your liking, but marshmallows and maraschino cherries are a must. Ambrosia salad is best served well chilled, allowing the flavors to meld.
Braised Green Beans and Potatoes
In this simple but powerful recipe, fresh green beans are the alpha and the omega, the bean and the broth. You know a recipe is going to be good when it calls for both onion powder and garlic powder in addition to fresh onion and fresh garlic. The muskier dried versions of these alliums aren’t redundant; they lend fortification to the savory structure that only onion and garlic can build. The potatoes, simmered until soft and fuzzy at the edges, make this holiday side dish — served, please, with a slotted spoon, as part of a buffet plate — feel more like a complete meal when enjoyed later, as leftovers. The ham hock (or smoked turkey leg) isn’t just an afterthought, said Scotty Scott, this recipe’s author and the author of “Fix Me a Plate.” Picked off the bone and chunked into a bowl with the green beans and their rich broth, the meat is a reminder of the soft but important boundary between special and ordinary.
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Yellow Squash Casserole
Packed full of sweet yellow squash and topped with buttery crackers, this Southern staple is worth turning on the oven, even during the hottest summer days.
Southern Fried Corn
Southern fried corn, a dish with deep roots in African American cooking, preserves fresh kernels and their natural sweetness. It’s traditionally made with corn shucked fresh from the cobs. Reserving the “milk” — the milky liquid from the lining of the cob — makes this dish lightly creamy without any cream. Sautéed with onions and jarred peppers, the kernels pick up loads of fresh flavor, then a final shower of bacon and sliced scallions adds crunch for a side dish that’s sweet, salty and perfect for any Sunday dinner.
Furikake Tomato Sandwich
In this variation on the classic Southern sandwich, a sprinkle of furikake, the savory-sweet Japanese rice seasoning that makes food sing, enhances the flavor of glutamate-rich summer tomatoes. The furikake’s seaweed, as well as its monosodium glutamate, lends you that extra burst of umami (the fifth taste after sweet, sour, salty and bitter), helping the tomatoes taste even more of themselves. Here, soft, just-toasted slices of brioche or milk bread should sandwich thick sheets of your favorite mayonnaise, completing the harmony of fruit, carb and condiment.
Street Corn Pudding
At Burnt Bean Co. in Seguin, Texas, you’ll find what you’d expect to find at a traditional Texas barbecue restaurant, including smoked brisket, sausage and potato salad. You’ll also find dishes inspired by co-owner Ernest Servantes’ childhood in Uvalde, west of San Antonio, like menudo, barbacoa tacos and this elotes-flavored corn pudding, one of the restaurant’s most popular side dishes. “It’s like Mexican street corn and cornbread had a baby,” Mr. Servantes said. Don’t worry if the finished pudding has a few cracks in the top — it will still be moist and light within.
7Up Sheet Cake
This old-fashioned Southern dessert, commonly seen at potlucks, church picnics and family barbecues, is a true center-of-the-table cake. Part lemon cake, part sheet cake, it uses 7Up in two ways: first, for moisture and, second, for leavening, replacing traditional leaveners, such as baking soda or baking powder. The carbonation in the soda helps the cake rise and keeps it tender. (If you don’t have 7Up, you can also use Sprite.) While this cake is traditionally made in a Bundt pan, this recipe uses a half sheet tray, which is perfect for feeding a crowd.
Hush Puppies
Dipped in tartar sauce or an aioli, served with salted butter or on their own, hush puppies are the perfect starter or side for any meal, but especially seafood or barbecue. They symbolize prosperity with their golden color. The cornmeal batter here is studded with onion and chives, then fried in a couple of inches of hot oil, until the outsides become crispy and delectable and the insides are moist and tender.
Sock-It-to-Me Cake
This vintage cake recipe is part pound cake, part coffee cake, but, here, a crunchy brown sugar-pecan blend is inside the cake — rather than on top — for tidier eating and a better bite. Getting its name from a popular phrase in the 1960s, prominently featured in the song “Respect” by Aretha Franklin, this cake is made with abundance in mind. It’s inviting on its own, and perfect for coffee or brunch, or dessert. Make it for a group of people you love, or people you’re just getting to know. They’re going to ask you all about the recipe.
Watermelon Chow Chow
It’s spicy, it’s sweet, it’s tangy. A perfect condiment, watermelon chow chow has a bright freshness and a gentle crunch that mellows with time. It renders a sweet and spicy kick to anything it’s spooned over, whether you’re serving it with grilled meats, like hot dogs or hot links, or collard greens.
Pimento Cheese Dip
This take on pimento cheese dip, a Southern favorite, brings together three cheeses (cream cheese, Cheddar and Colby Jack), mildly sweet pimentos and spicy hot sauce, then goes into the oven until deeply creamy. You could pair it with some crostini, but buttery Ritz crackers are especially good for scooping. They double down on this spread’s richness and make the dip irresistible enough to be a conversation piece for generations to come.
Fried Green Tomatoes
Tangy and bold in flavor, this not-so-traditional twist on classic fried green tomatoes sandwiches slices around Southern-style pimento cheese. They’re then dredged in a perfectly seasoned breading and fried until the outside is crisp and crunchy and the inside is creamy with a slight kick. Round it all out with some ranch dressing for dipping, and this update to the old-fashioned favorite is sure to become your new obsession.
Southern Caramel Cake
This traditional Southern caramel cake is perfect for when you want layer cake, and you'd like it fast. It's light and fluffy under the sweet caramel glaze, which hardens at room temperature and shatters gently with every bite. The glaze comes together quickly, thanks to the dark brown sugar, which already has that deep caramel flavor you’d get from cooking down granulated sugar. A little heat, butter and buttermilk give the icing body. The final cake is like a soft drop biscuit under a sweet caramel sauce, and it's just as good out of the refrigerator as it is warm.
Salty Southern Boiled Peanuts
This recipe makes Southern boiled peanuts that are not the prettiest treat. But, once nervous newcomers try a salty handful, they become lifelong fans.
All-Purpose Biscuits
Homemade biscuits are what take us into the kitchen today to cook: fat, flaky mounds of quick bread, golden brown, with a significant crumb. Composed of flour, baking powder, fat and a liquid, then baked in a hot oven, they are an excellent sop for syrup, molasses or honey. They are marvelous layered with country ham or smothered in white sausage gravy, with eggs, with grits. They make a great Thanksgiving side. And if you've never made them before, you'll be delighted to know that biscuits are easy to make. Really.
Pimento Cheese
A decidedly Southern spread with Northern roots, pimento cheese is a simple mix of Cheddar, red bell pepper and mayonnaise that can be found at work sites and garden parties across the 16 states below the Mason-Dixon line. This recipe came to The Times from the Charleston, S.C.-bred cookbook authors Matt Lee and Ted Lee. Serve with crackers, or for a Masters pimento cheese sandwich, spread it between two pieces of soft white bread.
Southern Smoothie
Remember: Smoothies are not beverages, they're meal replacements, so keep their nutrition facts in mind when considering your overall diet plan. Peaches are undeniably the fruit of choice in the south, but you don't have to be southern to enjoy this beverage. Fresh buttermilk adds a pleasing tanginess and blends well with peaches. Tip: Use frozen peaches to achieve an icy smoothness. This recipe was written by the Healthline Editorial Team: http://www.healthline.com/health-recipes/southern-smoothie
Craig Claiborne’s Smothered Chicken
Craig Claiborne was a child of Mississippi who started as food editor of The Times in 1957 and did as much as anyone to help bring home cooking into the spotlight. The dish “belongs in the ‘comfort’ category,” he wrote in 1983, “a food that gives solace to the spirit when you dine on it.” You could give your smothered chicken some European flair with mushrooms and small onions in the gravy, as Claiborne did in his experiments with Pierre Franey, then his kitchen co-pilot. Or you could send yourself south to the Creole tastes of the Delta, with a blend of tomatoes, chopped celery, onion and green peppers added to the sauce. But sometimes the easiest way is the best. Try it.
Roasted Okra and Onions
Buy the freshest, firmest okra you can find. Pick pods that are no bigger than your ring finger. Slicing them lengthwise just before you roast them will keep slime to a minimum. This basic technique is very accommodating. You can add quartered yellow squash or zucchini, or even a chopped up fresh tomato. The trick is to roast the vegetables until the edges of the onion begin to turn brown.