The story below is from our September/October 2023 issue. For more stories like it, Subscribe Today. Thank you!
Serve up some southern comfort with these family favorites.
Editor's Note: Becky is bringing her recipes to life in our new cooking videos on our YouTube page! Watch her COMFORT FOOD video below!
Ashley Cuoco
Candied Walnut Honeycrisp Apple Salad
When the autumn leaves start to turn into their brilliant reds and golds, I know that a chill will soon be in the air and it’s time for comfort food. These recipes bring back fond memories of the comforting foods my mom and grandmother cooked up in their southern kitchens.
Jane's Mississippi Pot Roast
6 – 8 servings
- 1 (3 – 4 lb) boneless beef chuck roast
- 1 (1.5 ounce) package ranch salad dressing and seasoning mix
- 1 (1 ounce) package au jus gravy mix
- 1 stick (8 tablespoons) butter
- 1 (12 ounce) jar pepperoncini peppers
Place chuck roast in a 6-quart or larger slow cooker.
Sprinkle ranch salad dressing, seasoning mix and au jus gravy mix over the roast.
Cut butter into tablespoon size pieces and place on top of the roast.
Place the pepperoncini peppers on the roast juice and all.
Cover slow cooker and cook on low for 8 hours or 5-6 hours on high.
Use tongs and a fork to shred the roast.
Alternative cooking method: Dutch Oven
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Rub the roast on all sides with ½ cup flour.
Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a 5-quart oven-safe Dutch oven over medium heat and sear the roast on all sides.
Sprinkle roast with ranch dressing and au jus gravy mix.
Pour the jar of pepperoncini peppers, juice and all, into the Dutch oven with the roast. Cut butter into tablespoon size pieces and place on top of roast.
Cover slow cooker and cook on high for 6-8 hours or until the roast is fork tender and can be pulled apart with tongs or a fork.
Serving suggestion: Serve with Not Your Grandma’s Spoonbread, chive mashed potatoes or on toasted Kaiser rolls with slices of provolone cheese melted on top of the shredded meat.
Not Your Grandma's Spoonbread
My “Gram” used to make delicious spoonbread, but she made it with yellow cornmeal, which tended to make it “gritty.” I make mine with a white cornmeal and flour mix that makes it velvety smooth.
Yield: 4 servings
- 2 tablespoons Kerrygold butter
- 2 cups water
- 1 cup self-rising white cornmeal and flour mix (I like Martha White brand)
- ¼ cup (1/2 stick) Kerrygold butter, room temperature
- ¾ cup buttermilk
- 1½ teaspoons salt
- ¾ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs, separated
Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
Place the 2 tablespoons Kerrygold butter in a 9-inch cast iron pan. Place pan in oven for 10 minutes prior to baking the spoonbread, allowing the butter to melt and pan to get hot. Place rimmed baking sheet underneath the cast iron pan in case batter bubbles over.
Bring water to boil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Gradually whisk in white cornmeal flour mix. Whisk until mixture is very thick, about 1 minute. Remove from heat.
Mix in butter, then buttermilk, salt, pepper and sugar. Cool 10 minutes. Add in egg yolks.
In medium bowl, beat egg whites with an electric mixer until stiff (not still) but not dry. Fold egg whites into lukewarm white cornmeal flour mixture.
Transfer batter into the prepared hot cast iron pan. Bake until puffed and golden and set in center, about 35 minutes. Serve hot with lots of butter.
Candied Walnut Honeycrisp Apple Salad
Yield: 4 servings
- 1 head green leaf lettuce
- 1 head radicchio
- 1 Honeycrisp apple, cored and chopped into small pieces
- 1 cup candied walnuts (recipe below)
- ½ cup shaved aged Gouda cheese
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh chives
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- Walnut Vinaigrette (recipe below)
Tear green lettuce and radicchio leaves into a large salad bowl. Add Honeycrisp apple, candied walnuts, Gouda cheese, chives, salt and pepper to lettuce and radicchio. Toss to combine. Serve with walnut vinaigrette.
To make candied walnuts:
- 1 cup walnut halves or pieces
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon butter
Heat a medium non-stick skillet over medium-high heat, add 1 tablespoon butter. When butter is melted, add ¼ cup sugar. Stir. Add 1 cup walnuts and stir to coat the walnuts with the sugar mixture.
Heat over medium-high heat for 2 minutes, then reduce heat to medium for 3 minutes, stirring frequently (with a heat proof non-plastic spatula) so your mixture doesn’t burn. When the sugar mixture starts melting, stir constantly until all sugar is melted and nuts are coated.
Transfer immediately onto a sheet of parchment paper, using two forks or spatulas to quickly separate the nuts.
Once the coating hardens (5-7 minutes), transfer them to a bowl.
To make walnut vinaigrette:
- ½ cup walnut oil
- 1/3 cup Colavita prosecco vinegar
- 4 tablespoons maple syrup
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
Place walnut oil, prosecco vinegar, maple syrup, Dijon mustard, garlic, salt, pepper and thyme in a blender container. Blend until emulsified. Place in a mason jar or glass container. Cover and refrigerate until service. Shake the jar well before serving.
Spiced Apple Ginger Cocktail
Ashley Cuoco
Spiced Apple Ginger Cocktail
Makes 1 cocktail
- ½ cup hard apple cider (I like Albemarle CiderWorks Pomme Mary Virginia Apple Cider for this cocktail.)
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 1½ ounces bourbon
- 6 dashes Dashfire Apple Spice Bitters
- ¼ cored Honeycrisp apple, sliced thin
- 2 splashes ginger beer
Place hard apple cider and maple syrup in a small saucepan. Stir to combine.
Heat the cider mixture to boiling, then reduce heat to a low simmer for 3 minutes.
Remove from heat. Allow to cool.
Place bourbon and hard apple cider mixture in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a Collins glass filled with small ice cubes and apple slices.
Add apple spice bitters and 2 splashes of ginger beer. Mix with a long handled spoon.
CiderWorks apple cider is available at Gladheart Wine and Brews.
Dashfire apple spice bitters are available at Crystal Spring Grocery or online.
Colavita Prosecco Vinegar is available at Fresh Market or online.
Martha White self-rising white cornmeal flour mix is available at Food Lion.
The story above is from our September/October 2023 issue. For more stories like it, Subscribe Today. Thank you!