LOUISIANA PRALINES
TIME: 30–45 MINUTES • SERVES 5–10
INGREDIENTS:
Butter for greasing the saucepan
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
¾ cup half-and-half
½ tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. butter
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup chopped pecans
24 whole pecans (optional)
Note: Like any candy, this recipe needs a dry day (below 50 percent humidity) to set up perfectly. Higher humidity results in sticky candy. If it’s pouring rain, you may end up eating it spooned over ice cream—which is fabulous, too.
You’ll need a large, heavy saucepan (at least 2 quarts) with a lid and a very sturdy handle. The boiling syrup must be vigorously beaten, so deep sides and a firmly attached handle are a must. When making candy, the goal is to have it crystallize when you want it to, and not a minute before. That means that if even a grain of sugar or salt falls into the heated syrup before you’re ready to spoon it out, the contents of the saucepan will set up like concrete, and you’ll get no candy, plus you’ll have a nasty mess to clean up. So the following instructions are set up to make certain no untoward grains of sugar destroy your candy before its time.
Butter the sides of your saucepan. As the pan warms, the butter will melt, and any sugar grains sticking to the side will slide into the pan before they cause trouble. Place the sugars, half-and-half, and salt into your prepared pan. Stir constantly over low heat until the mixture blends and the sugars melt into the half-and-half. Raise the heat to medium. Place the lid on the pan and allow it to heat for a few minutes. This will let the steam from the mixture wash any remaining sugar crystals down the side of the pan.
While the candy is cooking, prepare an area to spoon the candy by greasing a cookie sheet or placing a sheet of greased waxed paper on a butcher block or marble slab.
Remove the lid. Once the sugar syrup boils, turn the heat down to a simmer. If any crystals remain on the sides of the pan, carefully remove them with a wet paper towel wrapped around a fork. Never put your fingers into the pot. Bring the syrup to 234 degrees F. If you don’t have a candy thermometer, bring it to the soft-ball stage. Remove from the heat.
Add the butter and vanilla, but don’t stir—you’re just letting the butter melt and the alcohol boil out of the vanilla right now. Wait 5 minutes. Add the chopped pecans. Stir vigorously with a clean wooden (nonconductive) spoon until the candy loses its gloss and thickens. Warning: The syrup is hot enough to inflict serious burns. You’re incorporating air into the sugar syrup, which makes the candy soft and easy to eat, like fudge or taffy, instead of hard like a lollipop. Once it thickens, you need to move fast. Quickly spoon the candy into small mounds onto the prepared surface. If it starts to set up or gets too hard to work, beat in a teaspoon of hot water to loosen it up.
When the candy is all spooned out, press a whole pecan into the top of each praline, if desired. Allow the pralines to cool before serving.
Tip: Store the pralines in a tin lined with waxed paper to seal out humidity.
Cleanup note: Place the pan in the sink and fill it with hot water; let it sit for a little, and it’ll be a lot easier to clean. If it’s still a mess, fill it with water and place it on low heat on a burner. The sugars on the sides of the pan should soon melt away.
PERDITA’S BREAD PUDDING WITH BOURBON SAUCE
TIME: PREP TIME 35 MINUTES, BAKING TIME 60 MINUTES • SERVES 8
INGREDIENTS:
Bread Pudding:
½ cup seedless golden raisins (or dark raisins)
Enough bourbon to soak raisins
10 day-old slices of white bread, torn into pieces
4 cups milk, scalded
1 cup heavy cream
4 large eggs, beaten
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
½ tsp. ground nutmeg
½ cup (1 stick) butter, melted
½ cup pecans, roughly chopped
½ cup apple, peeled and chopped
Warm water
Bourbon Sauce:
2 sticks butter
2 cups powdered sugar
2 eggs
3 Tbsp. bourbon (or more to taste)
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
In a bowl, cover raisins in bourbon to soak. Combine the bread, milk, and cream in a large mixing bowl and stir until blended. In a separate bowl, mix the eggs and sugar together till well blended. Pour egg mixture into bread mixture and stir. Add the vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg, and stir well. Drain soaked raisins. Stir in the melted butter, raisins, pecans, and apple. Pour the mix into a greased 9 × 13” 2-quart baking dish, set the dish in a larger baking pan filled with warm water about 1” deep, and bake for 1 hour. Remove the dish from the pan of water and let the pudding cool.
To prepare the bourbon sauce, melt butter in a double boiler. Combine sugar and eggs in a mixing bowl and stir until sugar dissolves. Add sugar and egg mixture to butter. Whisk sauce in double boiler over hot water until sauce thickens slightly. Remove from heat and add bourbon to taste.
Portion out the pudding and spoon bourbon sauce over each serving.
Bread pudding submitted by Belle Franklin; bourbon sauce submitted by Treva Jackson
PORTIA’S SWEET POTATO PIE
TIME: PREP TIME 15 MINUTES, BAKING TIME 60 MINUTES • SERVES 8
INGREDIENTS:
2 cups canned mashed sweet potatoes
2 eggs
1¼ cups evaporated milk
½ cup sugar
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. ground cinnamon
½ tsp. ground nutmeg
2 Tbsp. rum
4 Tbsp. melted butter
1 unbaked pie crust (9”)
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
Mix the sweet potatoes, eggs, evaporated milk, sugar, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, rum, and butter with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Pour into the pie crust. Bake for 10 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 300 degrees F and bake for an additional 50 minutes, or until the filling is firm.
WICKED PEACH CAKE
TIME: BAKING TIME 35–40 MINUTES • SERVES 8–10
INGREDIENTS:
1 box yellow cake mix
1 package peach Jell-O
½ cup peach schnapps, divided
3–4 good-sized peaches, chopped to make 1½ cups
½ box powdered sugar
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a Bundt cake pan.
Prepare cake mix according to box directions. Add Jell-O and ¼ cup schnapps. Fold in peaches. Pour mixture into pan and bake for 35–40 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
Let cake cool for a few minutes, then turn it onto a cake plate and let cool until just warm. Mix together ¼ cup schnapps and powdered sugar to make a glaze. Poke several holes into the top of the cake with an ice pick or similar-sized utensil before drizzling the glaze over the cake. Add more schnapps if glaze is too thick.
Drinks
CLASSIC SOUTHERN SWEET TEA
TIME: 15 MINUTES FOR HEATING AND STEEPING • SERVES 8
INGREDIENTS:
1 quart water, preferably filtered
1 cup sugar
6 tea bags (flavor of your choice, but plain old Lipton is traditional)
Ice
Place a heavy 2-quart stainless steel saucepan on the stove. Fill just over halfway with water.
Add the sugar. Heat the water until the sugar melts, stirring frequently. Remove from the heat.
Drop in the tea bags. Allow to steep for roughly 5 minutes, or to taste. The longer the bags steep, the stronger the tea will be. Remove the tea bags and discard. Add ice to the mixture and stir. Pour the tea into a pitcher. Serve by pouring into ice-filled glasses.