Cheddar

Many Northern macaroni-and-cheese recipes use a béchamel sauce to coat tender elbow noodles, but the only time most Southerners put flour in a skillet is to make gravy—certainly not for a white sauce for macaroni. Our recipes are often simple combinations of pasta, eggs, butter, milk, and cheese. My Aunt Lee often prepares this dish. When I asked her about her recipe, she replied, “I just mix it all up in the dish until it looks right.” I had to coax a little more instruction out of her to share it with you here.

This simple casserole is a familiar dish in the South. It is an absolute standard at potlucks, brunches, weddings, and funerals. Casseroles are the salve that heals a Southerner’s wounded soul. I always call this dish “funeral grits” because it’s the perfect dish to take to the bereaved after the funeral. It can be treated as a side dish, held for hours in a low oven with few ill effects, and the leftovers reheat wonderfully. Funeral food in the South is a category all to itself. The food should be comforting, not too fancy, and even in this day and age, is best if homemade (not a platter of sliced deli meats from the grocery store). When my godfather, Uncle Raymond, died many years ago, I remember the women swarming in the kitchen, each and every one of them taking on a specific chore. Even though I was a professional cook by this time, I was designated for phone duty. I didn’t mind; I may have been a professional cook, but I was still the youngest and lowest on the totem pole. This dish serves six to eight people, more than most of the recipes in this book. Lord knows, a dish serving less people won’t go far at a Southern funeral. Use this recipe as a guide and make it your own. Add more jalapeño to give it some real heat, or switch up the cheeses and try adding freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, Gruyère, or white Cheddar.

An Italian frittata is an open-faced omelet similar to a Spanish tortilla. A French omelet is cooked very quickly over high heat, and additions like herbs, cheese, or vegetables are enclosed in the center of a two- or three-part fold. Frittatas and tortillas are cooked more slowly. The additional ingredients are whisked into the eggs and cooked at the same time. This delicious and easy dish makes a satisfying, simple supper with a side salad. Or take the Spanish approach, and cut the frittata into bite-size cubes and serve it skewered as a simple hors d’oeuvre. Ham and eggs are, of course, a marriage made in heaven. Used cured ham in this recipe, or if using country ham, halve the amount, so it will not be too salty.

The “pâté of the South,” pimento cheese is the epitome of a summer picnic delight. Everyone has a slightly different recipe, but the primary ingredients remain the same. Don’t be tempted to buy grated cheese, because the end result won’t be creamy enough. Try this stuffed in tomatoes, slathered on a celery stick, or (one of my favorites) straight from the bowl on a spoon.

Mama found the original of this recipe on the back of a box of Bisquick, a premixed baking product containing flour, shortening, salt, and leavening. According to General Mills, the recipe continues to be one of their most popular. Mama added pecans to the sausage balls, which she served during the holidays and at cocktail parties. I made a few additional changes and developed this “from scratch” version. This recipe works best if you grate the cheese yourself rather than buying it already grated, which is coated to keep the pieces from sticking together. You can add additional cayenne if you like, or use extra hot sausage.

When I was growing up, our nibbles were most often the cheese straws made by my grandfather, whom I called Dede. Dede was a tall, strapping man who knew the secret of a long, happy marriage to his iron-willed wife. As he put it, his blue eyes twinkling, he always got in the last word: “Yes, beloved.” Dede would layer his cheese straws in a tin lined with sheets of butter-stained waxed paper smelling of sharp cheese and peppery cayenne. Everyone loves these cheese straws—I once caught a party guest stuffing his pockets with them. A cookie press is needed to make these savory crackers. I prefer the version that resembles a caulking gun, although a turn-crank one will do. Some hard-core cheese straw makers invest in the electric version!

The sugar in corn begins to turn to starch as soon as it is picked. So, to get the maximum flavor for your corn pudding, use very fresh corn, preferably picked the same day, or a high-quality frozen product. Serve alongside any kind of grilled meat, especially lamb, or with a simple salad for lunch.

Tillamook cheddar cheese is made by a farmer-owned cooperative in Tillamook County, Oregon, that was founded in 1909 by dairy farmers to establish quality control over their product. Today the Tillamook co-op ownership is 150 families strong. And the Portland-based Oregon Brewers Guild, which boasts that Oregon is home to more microbreweries per person than just about anyplace on earth, currently has forty-one small, independent brewing members scattered throughout the state. I can think of fewer toothsome marriages than that of a good, sharp cheddar and a full-flavored beer.

I know you’re thinking, “Yeah, it’s low-cal because I only get one measly enchilada.” Not true. Okay, partially true, you only get one enchilada per serving, but they’re really big. By making larger enchiladas, you can pack them with all the good stuff and still save a couple hundred calories from skipping the extra tortillas.

I adore tortilla soup, but a lot of restaurants make it too spicy for me. I’d rather make it at home where I can control the heat by using milder salsa. This is an easy version that can be made from start to finish in less than 30 minutes.

Fajitas are great because you can put anything you want on them. I like mine with meat, onion, and cheese, but my sister always grills some eggplant or zucchini for hers. They are also really good with refried beans, guacamole, or even Spanish rice.

I was intimidated by the prospect of making a broccoli cheese soup, but I like it so much, I had to try. The recipe we came up with turned out to be one of the fastest, easiest soup recipes I’ve ever tried. Just to clarify, a bunch of broccoli is what you buy rubber-banded together in the store: a stalk is one of the pieces within the rubber band, and florets are the flowery tops.

This dip is so easy it’s embarrassing, but we included it anyway because we love it. We usually make it in two smaller pans, one using chili with meat for me and one with vegetarian chili for Megan. This is the perfect after-school snack, taking less than ten minutes from walking in the door to munching away in front of the television.

Potatoes and chiles are “New World” stuff, and yet, as it turns out, they have nourished millions of people around the world since they were brought to the “Old World” by European explorers just a few hundred years ago. Here is a simple dish combining the Old World and New World ingredients, stewed together in the pot—in this case, the slow cooker. Unlike conventional scalloped potatoes baked in a gratin pan, where “design” matters, I recommend gently stirring these potatoes once or twice during their cooking time to evenly distribute the good stuff and ensure even cooking.

Grits, a traditional Southern breakfast dish, are often served topped with butter and cheese. They fill hungry bellies and stick to the ribs for many hours. Technically, grits are coarsely ground hominy, and they are white in color, while polenta is ground, dried yellow corn. But in the United States (outside the Deep South), the two are often used interchangeably. It’s best if you can find the stone-ground real thing, but if not, you can use the instant grits that are available in nearly every grocery store or mail-order them from a source that specializes in grains, such as Bob’s Red Mill in Oregon. I recommend using a 2- to 3-quart slow cooker so that your grits don’t dry out overnight.

Ready to think outside the box? While it may take a touch more time than its boxed counterpart, this creamy casserole is exponentially better than anything off the grocery shelves. The light crunch of the panko bread crumbs set against the thick, gooey underbelly of cheese-laden pasta makes for a most decadent taste and texture experience. Feel free to experiment, trading out some of the Cheddar for Gruyère or a smoked Gouda, if you so desire.

Soaking the cornmeal in buttermilk is a tip I picked up from my good friend Peter Reinhart’s epic tome, The Bread Baker’s Apprentice. The wonderful flavor it imparts and the texture it lends might keep you from ever considering using another boxed cornbread mix.

Grits are a true thing of beauty when properly cooked. Unfortunately, instant grits can never come close. If you’re really pressed for time, wait for a pleasant Sunday morning when you can afford those few extra minutes. Your patience will be rewarded.

Piquant garlic and creamy cheddar make this muffin a mouthwatering appetizer or an excellent accompaniment to soup or salad.

This is a mac-and-cheese you can actually feel good about serving. Substitute any vegetables you prefer to boost the nutrition of this meal far beyond any boxed version bought at the store. Traditionally, American-style macaroni and cheese is made primarily with Cheddar cheese, but personally I’m a fan of using mozzarella and Monterey Jack. Of course, you can mix and match any combination of cheeses in this meal. Nondairy cheeses perform about as well as real cheeses in Glorious One-Pot Meals, although I usually look for those listing casein as an ingredient for that cheesy gooeyness that’s more like the real stuff. Casein might be a problem for vegans and those with mild dairy allergies, so keep this in mind. You can use much less cheese than I recommend and the dish will still turn out pretty cheesy. If you find it is too rich, try using harder, lower-fat cheeses such as Swiss, provolone, or Parmesan. Enjoy experimenting with your favorite cheeses. Some noodles and cheese may form a crusty layer along the bottom and lower sides of the pot. While my husband enjoys crunching these tasty strips, stirring well to coat the noodles with water when building the pot and paying careful attention to when the aroma first escapes the oven will help you avoid this.

Bobby loves broccoli; Jamie loves bacon; Brooke loves pine nuts and dried cranberries; and everybody loves ranch dressing, so this salad just kind of “appeared” in the bowl one day when we were all feeling hungry. Also try it with Quick-’n’-Easy Chicken ’n’ Dumplings (page 131).