What Ya Got a-Cookin', part 2

I truly wish I had paid more attention to Mama’s cooking when I was younger.  She was one of those kitchen maestros who could just toss in a bit of this and a pinch of that to make something supremely yummy.  Me?  I need details, man; give me a fully annotated step-by-step recipe to follow. 

My big sister JoAnn is the only one of us to pick up on Mama’s cooking skills (she told me to say that)  and she is an excellent cook in her own right, with lasagna and quiche as her specialties (she didn't tell me to say that). Thank goodness JoAnn moved beyond the ghoulish goulash she used to make every Saturday when were younger. She had learned to make that in home ec and was quite pleased with her ability to feed her younger (and often ungrateful) siblings.   In later years when she and Mama cooked together, our taste buds were always in for a treat.  

For years I badgered JoAnn to write up Mama’s recipe for Brunswick Stew so I could attempt it.  Thankfully, just a few months before Mama died, she and JoAnn spent a day cooking together.  While Mama created her legendary stew, JoAnn measured and wrote.  Here is what they came up with.  I hope you enjoy it as much as we have!

Mary Lue’s Brunswick Stew

3 lbs Boston Butt, roasted or cooked slowly in crockpot until tender

3 lbs Stew Beef, cooked; save broth

3 cans stewed tomatoes

4 large potatoes, diced

1 large onion, diced

1 can cream corn

2 cans whole corn

1 can tomato sauce

1 bottle ketchup (use ½ to 1 bottle)

2 tble Tobasco sauce

Salt, Pepper, Garlic & Hot Sauce to taste

Mix all ingredients except corn in a big pot.  Simmer about 2 hours until done.

Add seasonings to taste.

Add corn the last 30-45 minutes of cooking to prevent sticking.

Have extra beef broth on hand if you need to thin the stew.

Stir frequently to prevent sticking.

This should make about 2 gallons of wonderfully delicious stew.

Note: We use frozen veggies because they have less sodium.  We also like to add Lima Beans.  You can also add more onions, potatoes, or tomatoes to taste, as desired.

Hey Good Lookin', What Ya Got a-Cookin'?

Mama was a very accomplished Southern Cook.  Sadly, those skills did not pass down to me because I was too busy doing “important” things like after school activities, Girl Scouts, drama, or student government to do something as mundane as cooking. 

Like a lot of Southern cooks, Mama would fry or boil everything to within an inch of its life, then smother it in butter and/or gravy.  Not so good for the arteries maybe, but oh so tasty!  And, boy howdy, could my Mama cook up a yummy pot of Brunswick Stew!

I recall helping her make Brunswick Stew once when I was about 8 or 10 years old.  She brought home a hog’s head for the stew (yeah, a “real” hog’s head … it was the only meat we could afford at the time) that she boiled up with a bunch of onions and seasonings.  When it was cooled, my task was to pluck all the meat off the head. Come to think of it, that experience probably added a lot to my early aversion to cooking.

Years and years ago when my soon-to-be Fiancé flew out to meet my family, he was astounded by the variety and amount of food Mama served.  Shucks, a good Southern meal ain’t hardly worth fixin’ unless you’ve got at least 2 or 3 meats, half-a-dozen different vegetables, and 3 or 4 splendid desserts!

My husband was raised out west where “peas” are those round mushy green things that come in cans, so the variety of peas we have in the South amazed him.  After more than two decades of Southern living, he has come to appreciate the tasty goodness of black-eyed peas, crowders, lady fingers, purple hulls, even butter beans. 

He has also developed a liking for grits … after all, Grits Is Groceries!  In fact, one of our favorite light evening meals is grits & eggs with bacon or sausage and muffins or biscuits.  Mmm, mmm … it doesn't get much better than that.  Oh, and no self-respecting Southerner would ever put sugar on their grits!  The proper seasonings are butter with salt and pepper, topped with red-eye gravy, if you have it.  If not, try mixing your helping of grits with scrambled eggs and crumbled bacon or sausage. Major yum!

Alas, my lack of culinary skills - or more accurately, my disinterest in cooking – has passed on to my daughters.  My apologies to my sons-in-law!  Fortunately for them, both of my married daughters have husbands who enjoy cooking, so my failure hasn’t totally ruined their lives.  Oh, my family never went hungry … thirty-plus years of marriage and raising a passel of kids will force such skills on you, however much you may resist it.  I can cook a decent meal, but I will never match Mama’s  talent for good down-home cooking and it will never be one of my favorite things to do.

A couple of years ago my husband started working from home and gradually has assumed more of the cooking chores, especially since I now work five days a week.  Hallelujah!!  I gladly relinquish the kitchen to him as he is a much more creative cook than I am and is no coward when it comes to using spices.  If he wants to continue cooking for the next thirty years, I will gladly wash the dishes!

So, hey good lookin’ … watch you got a-cookin’ tonight?