Y'all Come Over: A Celebration of Southern Hospitality, Food, and Memories
By Patsy Caldwell and Amy Lyles Wilson
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About this ebook
Discover some of the best Southern recipes for entertaining guests, whether it’s a special occasion for two or a seasonal gathering for twenty-two.
There are major milestones that demand the fine china and fresh flowers but in the South, no special occasion is needed to throw open the front door, set up a buffet line down the kitchen counter, and welcome your dearest loved ones over for the sort of meal they won’t soon forget.
Join Patsy Caldwell and Amy Lyles Wilson as they once again take us to Luckettville to meet the talented downhome hostesses who’ve said, “Y’all come over” a time or two in their day.
You’ll get the perfect menu suggestions for just about every occasion a Southern entertainer might encounter—soups to ladle up during the big game, savory meats to toss on the grill for summer picnics, and sweets to regale the crowd with during the last six weeks of the year.
In Y’all Come Over, some of the tasty recipes you’ll discover include:
- Iron Skillet Roasted Chicken with White Beans and Tomatoes
- Blackberry Lemonade
- Cherry Cobbler Cupcakes
- Good Neighbor Chicken Fiesta Soup
Get inspired to make your kitchen a place where friends and family will look forward to landing. All that’s left to do is say it—“Y’all come over!”
Patsy Caldwell
Patsy Caldwell has been a culinary professional for more than fifty years in a career that has included teaching, catering, cooking, and writing. She is a mother of two and grandmother of two. She lives in Charlotte, Tennessee, next to the water tower with her husband Bill, where they enjoy entertaining anywhere from two to twenty-two people, depending on the occasion.
Read more from Patsy Caldwell
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Y'all Come Over - Patsy Caldwell
Contents
Introduction
CHAPTER 1: Family Fireworks
Blackberry Lemonade
Fruit Cocktail Punch
Corn and Roasted Peanut Salad
Hush Puppies
Southern Fried Dill Pickles
Fire and Ice Tomatoes
Cheddar Bacon Hot Water Cornbread
Three-Bean Baked Beans
TCB Slaw
Red, White, and Blue Potato Salad
Fried Catfish
Smoked Pork Baby Back Ribs
Barbecue Chicken with Bacon and Cheese Topping
Good Granny Smith Apple Sheet Pie
Summer Peach Cheesecake Ice Cream
CHAPTER 2: A House Divided
Fall Flavor Fruit Tea
Potato, Ham, and Cheese Appetizer
Deep-Fried, Deep-South Sweet Potato Chips
Soup Beans
Armchair Quarterback Pork Tenderloin and Pinto Bean Soup
Good Neighbor Chicken Fiesta Soup
Bacon-Wrapped Barbecued Shrimp
Muffulettas
Blackened Bologna Sandwich
Creole Seasoning
Sautéed Sliced Beef Tenderloin
Popcorn Balls
Rhubarb Cake with Coconut Pecan Topping
Orange Slice Cake
Toasted Coconut Pie with Macadamia Coconut Crust
Touchdown Brownies
CHAPTER 3: After the Ball
Hot to Fox Trot Chocolate
All-Purpose Biscuit Mix
Sour Cream Coconut Biscuits
Apple Walnut Cheese Biscuits
Linda’s Chocolate Friendship Bread
Brown Sugar Bacon with Pecans
Ham and Cheese Oven Omelet
Puffed Up and Proud French Toast
Red Velvet Pancakes with Maple Cream Cheese
Fresh Fruit Salad with Orange Dressing
Scrambled Egg Breakfast Cups
Cherry Cobbler Cupcakes
Fried Country Ham with Redeye Gravy
CHAPTER 4: Dinner for Two . . . Me and You
Shrimp Salad
Y’all Cumin Roasted Carrots
Fresh Strawberry Soup
Two-Potato Scalloped for 2
Macaroni and Cheese with Bacon and Jalapeño Peppers
Roasted Asparagus with Pine Nuts and Parmesan Cheese
Barbecued Lamb Chops
Bacon-Wrapped Filet
Ham and Cheese Stuffed Pork Chops
Deep-Fried Flounder with Pimento Cheese Grits
Pimento Cheese Grits
Cherry Shortcake
Isn’t It Romantic Baked Chocolate Pudding
CHAPTER 5: Dinner with the Preacher
Southern Spoon Bread
Green Beans with Bacon and Tomatoes
Orange Strawberry Salad with Orange Vinaigrette
Green Chili and Corn Casserole
Sunday Carrots
Fried Green Tomatoes with Fresh Tomato Salsa
Macaroni and Cheese and Shrimp
Chicken and Peach Pecan Dressing
Country-Style Pot Roast with Sour Cream Gravy
Vegetable Soup Meat Loaf
Apple Pie Sweetened with Sugar Substitute
Carole’s Take Some Home with You
Spice Bars
Cherry Cobbler
CHAPTER 6: All Politics Are Local
Chocolate Punch
Bacon Cheddar Deviled Eggs
Charleston Buttermilk Corn Sticks with Bacon Tomato Jam
Bacon Tomato Jam
It Makes Two Fruit and Nut Bread with Pineapple Nut Spread
Pineapple Nut Spread
Cheesy Black-Eyed Pea Dip
Marinated Grilled Pork Tenderloin
Chicken Macadamia Platter with Honey Mustard Dip
Honey Mustard Dip
Chili Creole Shrimp
Caramel Chocolate Chews
Peanut Butter–Filled Cookies
Balanced Budget Cracker Candy
Praline Bundt Cake
Coconut Cream Cheesecake
CHAPTER 7: Lending a Helping Hand
Apple Lemonade
Pineapple Grape Salad
Old-Fashioned Southern Fried Okra
Don’t Tell Beer Rolls
Swiss Potato Casserole
Hominy Salad
Iron Skillet Roasted Chicken with White Beans and Tomatoes
Mac and Cheese Soup with Ham
Preacher Fried Chicken and Gravy
Salmon Croquettes
Oak Hill Fried Pies
Cinnamon-Butter Filling
Chocolate Filling
Strawberry Pizza
Summer Snowballs
Butterscotch Sauce
Chocolate Sauce
CHAPTER 8: Cooking from the Garden
Pea-Pickin’ Black-Eyed Pea Corn Muffins
Vegetable Beef Soup
Watermelon Salad with Feta and Toasted Pecans
Cheese Soup with Squash and Tomatoes
Bacon, Lettuce, and Tomato Soup
Asparagus with Cashew Butter
Cabbage Casserole
Corn Pudding Crème Brulee
Squash Tarts
Cheese and Corn Stuffed Tomatoes
Vegetable Corn Salad
Summer Tomato Sandwich
Green Beans with Cucumber and Onion Topping
Roasted Red Onions
Parsley Red Potatoes
Slaw with Walnuts and Cranberries
Eggplant Pie
Raspberry Crumble
Sweet Tea Pie
CHAPTER 9: Cooking with Honey
Pimento Cheese Soup with Mayonnaise Cheese Toast
Mayonnaise Cheese Toast
Frozen Apricot Fruit Salad
Candy Apple Salad
Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Bacon and Pecans
Cauliflower and Broccoli Wreath
Baked Orange Cups with Pineapple and Apples
Alice’s Green Bean Roll-Ups
Blackberry Barbecued Chicken with Jalapeño Corn Fritters
Blackberry Barbecue Sauce
Jalapeño Corn Fritters
Chicken Fried Steak with Cream Gravy
Bryan’s Osso Bucco
Grilled Sweet-Tea Brined Pork Chops with Peach Salsa
Peach Salsa
Chicken Pot Pie with Sweet Potato Crust
Caramel Nut Pound Cake with Brown Butter Pecan Icing
Watertower Strawberry Cheesecake Trifle
Cherry Cheesecake Bars
CHAPTER 10: Making Memories
Lemon Drop Tea
Grits Cornbread
Pecan Rice
English Pea Casserole
Sweet Potato Relish
Vegetable Mashed Potatoes
Pistachio Pork Tenderloin with Cream Sauce
Cola Baked Country Ham with Cherry Cola Glaze
Whole Smoked Turkey
Mushroom Bacon Casserole
Blackberry Wine Cake
Caramel Candy
Peachy Cheesies
Creamy Pecan Pie
Sweet Potato Cobbler
CHAPTER 11: Surprise, Surprise
Pineapple Tea Punch
Spicy Pretzels
Pimento Cheese Corn Muffins with Turkey
Hot Pecan Spread with Lemon Pepper Crackers
Pepperoni Dip
Vegetable Spread
Cornmeal Cups with Black Bean Corn Salsa
Black Bean Corn Salsa
Crab Dip with Artichokes
Buffalo Chicken Dip
Baked Tomato, Bacon, and Cheese Dip
Beef Tenderloin with Horseradish Mayonnaise
Butterfinger Dip
Banana Split Ice Cream
Cranberry Snow Candy
Coconut Black Walnut Cake
CHAPTER 12: Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner
Sour Cream Crescent Rolls
Strawberry Peanut Brittle Salad
Accordion-Cut Roasted Potato
Baked Pineapple with Pears
Ground Beef Stew with Black-Eyed Peas
Southwest Macaroni and Cheese
Creamed Chipped Beef
Honey Brined Southern Fried Chicken
Chocolate Banana Pudding
Butter Roll Dessert
German Chocolate Chess Pie
White Chocolate Pie
Acknowledgments
Index
7/11/13 9:55 AMIntroduction
In the South, it seems there is no shortage of reasons for throwing open your doors and inviting friends and family over for a bite to eat. There are the obvious ones, of course, like weddings and graduations, which deserve a big to-do and maybe even the good silver. Then there are the more common occurrences, like birthdays and promotions, for which the everyday china will do just fine. And then there are those times when you don’t need an excuse at all, and you might even use paper plates. You simply say, Y’all come over,
and they do.
When my piano teacher, Mrs. Collins, decided it was time for me to have a recital all on my own, my mother responded by promptly inviting just about anybody she could wrangle to witness the spectacle.
Y’all come over,
she surely said. Those piano lessons are really paying off.
She made pickup food and punch, and we set up some folding chairs in the front room so everyone could have an unobstructed view of the piano. She even put out a little glass of water for me in the kitchen. After each song I would stand up, try my best to smooth down the Sunday school dress she’d put me in, the one with the scratchy lining (which I remember as crinoline, but now realize was probably something else), and go take a sip of water, offstage as it were, like I was some sort of opera diva. I would then return to the piano bench and pound out another round of London Bridge
or Für Elise.
Everyone applauded when they were supposed to, and I survived to tell the tale. It was an early lesson for me in the art of hospitality, that ability to take an otherwise mundane occurrence and turn it into a festive occasion.
The bigger milestones, like a wedding or an anniversary, might call for something a little more high falutin’, like Please join us,
or The favor of a reply is requested.
But most times a simple Y’all come over
is all that’s needed.
In the end, you don’t have to justify inviting the neighbors over for dinner. A theme isn’t necessary for an impromptu party. Having your girlfriends to lunch doesn’t require a reason. And goodness knows your family will be glad for any excuse—or none at all—to savor your home-cooked best.
As we did in Bless Your Heart and You Be Sweet, Patsy Caldwell and I wanted to combine down-home recipes with heartfelt stories in an appetizing and accessible collection that you can return to again and again. We hope this book will inspire you to gather your friends and family to celebrate the major milestones in your lives. But we also hope you’ll consider saying Y’all come over
for no other reason than to share your home, and your heart, with those you love.
—AMY LYLES WILSON
CHAPTER 1
Family Fireworks
Any way you look at it, last year’s Fourth of July cookout was a disaster for the Muller family; at least that’s how Irma sees it. Even if you rejoice in the fact that little Isabella’s recovery from the bee stings—who knew she was allergic?—was rapid and complete, you couldn’t deny that the entire affair was a fiasco. Even if you’re grateful, and Irma is, that there was only minor damage to Junior’s brand-new all-terrain vehicle when the tree fell on it during the thunderstorm, you couldn’t ignore the reality that not one member of the Muller family left with a smile on his or her face. And the food? Please don’t get Irma started.
She won’t say another word about how if she’d been in charge instead of Cousin Mary Jean, none of the unfortunate incidents—did Irma mention the forks that cracked in two every time you tried to spear a baked bean?—would have occurred, but that’s the honest truth. Mary Jean didn’t even spring for the good plasticware, that’s how cheap she is. (Did Irma just say that out loud?)
Now that Irma’s in charge of this year’s event, she’s moving the celebration from the state park to her backyard. The park wasn’t worth it, not after they lost Big Irma last year, only to find her in the restroom waiting patiently for someone to bring her a handful of toilet paper. Add to that the fact that they weren’t allowed to shoot fireworks on county property, and nobody had been happy. Never again, says Irma.
Thankfully, she’s always been hyper-organized, a trait that comes in handy at a time like this, even if her fine attention to detail does occasionally get on her loved ones’ nerves. She’s ordered two tents in case of rain, and there are five boxes of bottled water in the carport for those who can’t take the heat. She’s hired Boffo the Clown to put in an appearance for the kids, and she’s invited the volunteer firefighters in case Uncle Fred gets a little out of control with the Roman candles; they’re his favorites. Irma’s place is just beyond the county line, but you can’t be too sure. Fred means well; he’s just trying to be festive. But now that he refuses to wear his hearing aids, the chances of reining him in are greatly diminished. Irma decides she’d better bake an extra apple sheet cake for the fire chief in case she has to do some sweet-talking.
Irma knows that even with her uncanny ability to anticipate almost any potential outcome, there are some things she can’t control. Even if you pay your taxes in full, love your neighbor as yourself, and limit your swearing to two curse words a week, sometimes bad things do happen to good people.
Even God blinks,
Irma says, so you might as well be prepared.
The risk of Irma’s mother showing up in that red, white, and blue sequined T-shirt, the one that emphasizes Big Irma’s ample bosom, is another thing Irma will have to let go of.
It’s one of the few pleasures I have left,
responds her mother whenever Irma tries to talk to her about her loud clothing choices. Irma would use the word tacky instead of loud, but she doesn’t want to hurt her mother’s feelings.
I’m an old woman,
says Big Irma, her dangling daisy earrings, the ones she bought in Branson, swinging back and forth. I’ve earned the right to dress as I please.
So Irma realizes she can’t rein in Fred’s penchant for pyrotechnics or tone down Big Irma’s tendency to dress inappropriately for her age. But the food—the food Irma can control. She’ll make her barbecue peanuts, which the guys couldn’t get enough of down at the Rotary back when Dave was alive. She’ll ask Cousin Charlotte to bring her corn and roasted peanut salad, which might sound a little strange but tastes fabulous. Once, they caught Charlotte’s husband eating it straight from the serving bowl when he thought no one was looking. That’s how good it is. Of course, there will be plenty of meat: barbecue chicken and smoked pork baby back ribs. She’ll throw in some bacon cheddar deviled eggs, because they’re her boyfriend Hal’s favorite. Imagine, caring what a man thinks at her age!
After Dave died, and after dodging romantic overtures from several members of the grief group at All Souls Chapel, Irma had just about given up on love. But in walked Hal one day while Irma was arranging a horseshoe-shaped spray of carnations down at the Bouquet Boutique where she works two afternoons a week and one Saturday a month. Why Sylvia Hinkle wanted such a garish display on her recently departed husband’s final resting place is beyond Irma, but it is not her station to judge. Something to do with all those years of his playing the ponies, perhaps. Irma liked to have fallen for Hal right on the spot, seeing as how he was buying lilies of the valley, his mother’s favorite, to take to her out at Happy Trails Retirement Village. You know what they say about a man who is good to his mother.
Just to be double-dog sure that everyone will enjoy the cookout, Aunt Edith is going to mix up some fruit cocktail punch. It makes you think you’re getting a little buzz, without the hooch. Perfect for such a God-fearing yet fun-loving family as the Mullers. Edith got the idea for the punch after a holiday party with the Uptowners, her bridge club, where Virginia Tarver served her secret recipe rum punch. Several of the ladies thought they were tipsy, but it turns out there’s no rum in the punch; hence the secret. Oh, did they have a good laugh when they found out.
With a little luck, a fun time will be had by all this Fourth of July. And with Irma in charge, the Mullers’ chances are pretty good.
00-01_Ya'll Come.indd 4Blackberry Lemonade
Blackberry picking in the South has got to be one of the hottest and hardest activities there is. But this drink is so delicious it makes up for it.
8 cups water, divided
1 cup sugar
2 cups blackberries
1 cup lemon juice
Fresh mint for garnish
Place 2 cups of water and the sugar in a small saucepan over high heat. Bring to a boil and boil for 2 minutes. Cool. In the bowl of a blender puree the blackberries mixed with the cooled sugar water until smooth.