Cooking on the Road - Crumb Top Apple Pie

Last week we took cooking on the road. To the Capitol City - Raleigh, North Carolina.

There is so much history as to how and why cooking happens in Raleigh that it would take a book. Dad has begun writing that book with amazing stories of the 22 years that he and Mom spent in the the NC Legislature in Raleigh. The stories are about politics, events and relationships. As usual, many of those relationships were bonded over cooking. Not just any cooking. Ruby's Cooking.

Ruby's Cooking used to be a noun and verb but it evolved into an event. There have been articles in Our State magazine and several newspaper columns over the years to describe Ruby's Cooking. The jist is that when Dad was in the legislature, he would call or maybe just run into someone somewhere and then invite them to come over to their Raleigh condo because Ruby's cooking. Over the years this included people (Dad calls them Ruby's customers) from the legislative, executive and judicial branches of government as well as reporters, family and friends from all over the place. These invitations were always last minute and it was always something people wanted to do. One reason was that after all of the required dinners that politicians attend, it was good to have real home cooking. Another reason was that everyone knew this was a family gathering so egos and agendas should be left at the front door. People knew that Ruby's Cooking would be a safe haven just like home is supposed to be. Mom and Dad have a lot of stories about various people who have come for dinner and what they liked to eat and how cute they were when they could just be themselves. I was present for a few of these events, but not all by any stretch so I'll leave those stories for others to tell. Mom and Dad can tell the stories, and also my sister, Judy can tell them. This is because Judy and Dad were both in the legislature for several years at the same time. At that time they were the only father/daughter in the NC legislature and maybe in the country. Judy served several counties in the Western North Carolina mountains and Daddy served three counties in the foothills.

Last week, we were cooking in Raleigh for a celebration of Judy's health and the doctors who helped her. Fifteen years ago, Judy had a kidney and pancreas transplant. Fifteen years later, she is very active and engaged in life. She has demonstrated huge amounts of courage and 'stick-to-it-ive-ness" (a word I learned from her). She has the intellect and the tenacity to stay up to date on health issues and to take control of her own health. She has also built strong relationships with the amazing doctors who help guide her through it all.

Judy set the menu and made the invitation calls. Mom and Dad supplied home frozen corn, home canned green beans, Mama's biscuits, Dad's special country ham, and fresh crowder peas from the garden. Dad asked me to make a Crumb Top Apple pie. I was also the driver. Being the driver to Raleigh events with Mom and Dad is always an adventure - more like a vacation than a duty. There are certain things that are rote. 1) We make sure we have diet coke with crushed ice for the trip 2) Dad likes to play the let's see if we can squeeze the entire trip out of one tank of gas game while Mom and I do not 3) There is always discussion about whether to go the old way or the new way. Mom and Dad love going the old way - highways 49 and 64 - because the pace is less hectic than I-85 and as Mom says, "the scenery is prettier". They also like to stop at a locally owned cafeteria in Siler City. Mom used to drive Dad back and forth to Raleigh for 22 years and she can tell you exactly where you are when you go the old way. She knows every tree and hill and stoplight. While Mom drove, Dad rested in the back seat of the car with his special pillow Quigley. In those days, Dad would work in his dental office from Friday thru Monday lunch. He would check on the Round Up on his way home from the dental office. Mom would pack their car for a four day stay in Raleigh and then drive the four hour trip to set up house in their Raleigh condo. It is amazing that they did this for 22 years.

So, we arrived in Raleigh last Monday evening and began preparations for Judy's celebration dinner to be held on Tuesday night. Dad fried the country ham, Mom and Dad made slaw and we all worked on other details. Judy's Raleigh condo is where Mom and Dad lived during the last years of their legislative terms. Later Judy and Hanse bought it. Hanse and I joked that we should all buy a condo in the same building so we would have kind of our own retirement building. Ironically, now Jackie has bought a condo there and Mom and Dad have bought another one. These are nice condos, but when you think of having a seated dinner party for 20 people it seems like an impossibility. At least now, we have three kitchens and all three were in use as Judy and Hanse made macaroni and cheese, Mom cooked a fresh turkey breast and the vegetables, Dad made pimiento cheese and I sliced tomatoes, onions, fruit, and made the apple pie. Mom also made 2 cakes of cornbread and cooked her special homemade biscuits. For appetizers we fried home grown squash.

Tuesday about 6 pm the guests started to arrive at Judy's condo and it really was a celebration. The doctors who are all in different locations now, were happy to reunite with each other and with Judy. I know how joyful we all are to have such a success story, but I can not really imagine being one of the doctors who were a part of pulling off this miracle. They are not only brilliant, but also such loving and caring people - real doctors as Judy says.

It was such a fun evening full of laughter and stories. The conversation was wonderful - from books, to politics, to sports, to medicine, to food, to friendship. As the guests were leaving, Dad wanted to give one of the transplant surgeons some unshelled crowder peas from the garden. The surgeon said, "can you teach me how to shell the peas". Dad said, "Well you're a surgeon, you should be able to do it." The transplant surgeon quipped, "Well I'm better at putting things in than taking things out!!" Hilarious. And thankful.

Nell's Crumb Top Apple Pie

I thought this was Mama Crowder's recipe until Mom told me she had gotten it from Nell Sperling.

Filling:

4 Cups Apples - use mostly green ones like Granny Smith and a few red ones
3/4 Cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Slice apples and cook in a small sauce pan over low heat with sugar and cinnamon until about 1/2 done. You want them to be cooked but firm, not mushy. Don't add water, there will be plenty of juice.

Crust:

Take a Pillsbury all ready pie crust and roll out into a pie pan. You can make your own crust, but these are good and they work for me.

Pour the cooked apples into the pie crust.

Topping:

1/2 cup plain flour
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup melted butter
1/4 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese

Blend the topping ingredients until they are course crumbs. You can do this ahead of time or while the apples are cooking. Blend and scatter over pie.

Bake 35-40 mintues. Start at 450 degrees for 10 minutes, then reduce to 350 for rest of the time. Check to make sure the topping is cooked until melty and brown.

Pizza and Salad - Carol's Fantastic French Dressing

Homemade pizza was on my mind. And so was Carol's Fantastic French Dressing. Carol's French Dressing is really easy to make and everyone loves it.

The homemade pizza was easy once we decided on toppings. Jay wanted sausage and pepperoni. I wanted that plus green olives, red peppers and fresh parmesan cheese. Shelby said she liked everything. David wanted to add jalapenos. We all wanted tomato sauce and lots of mozzarella cheese.

I made up two rectangular pans with pizza crust and then everyone fixed their side the way they wanted it. (see May 26, 2010 blog post for pizza)

For the salad, we had iceberg lettuce, onion, red and green peppers. And Carol's dressing. Carol's dressing is sweet and tangy and it really goes a long way. I toss it into the salad before serving. It is surprising how little dressing is really needed. The recipe makes about a quart and will keep in the fridge for a while.

Carol's Fantastic French Dressing

1 cup salad oil (I usually use wesson vegetable oil)
1 cup sugar (I think you can reduce this a little bit)
2/3 cup ketchup
1/2 cup cider vinegar (don't use balsamic - use cider)
2 tsp salt
2 Tbsp minced onion (I grate the onion and rarely measure it)
Juice of 1 lemon (I use bottled lemon juice sometimes, a splash works)

Blend together with a wire whisk. Stores well in fridge.

Breakfast - Yogurt Parfait

Recently, breakfast has been a main gathering meal. We fixed eggs, grits, bacon and toast for a crowd of hungry college boys one day last week. Saturday morning we fixed the same for Jay and his friend, Shelby, who had flown in from Michigan. Sunday morning we fixed a spur of the moment, lighter breakfast for friends visiting from Raleigh.

Saturday night we drove down to Spartanburg, SC to watch the Wofford Terriers first football scrimmage of the season. After the rainy scrimmage, we met David and teammates Devin and Martin at a mexican restaurant. We enjoyed seeing the boys and the mexican food was great. It also came in giant quantities which is always important for these guys.

The mexican restaurant was near The Fresh Market in Spartanburg so we migrated over there. We love The Fresh Market. Actually we love going to grocery stores in general. But we cannot pass any Fresh Market anywhere without going inside. No trip to The Fresh Market is complete without buying Cinnamon Hazelnut Coffee, some kind of great bread and bacon. On this trip to the Spartanburg store, we found the coffee, English Toasting bread, All Natural 8 Grain Bread, and Hickory Smoked Bacon.

Fortunately we made that Fresh Market trip, because our friends Steve and Patty were in town and we invited them last minute to come over for Sunday morning breakfast.

David made Cinnamon Hazelnut coffee and fried a ton of Hickory Smoked Fresh Market bacon. I fixed a bowl of fruit and buttered and toasted both kinds of Fresh Market bread. Then, I decided to make yogurt parfaits. I have never really liked yogurt that much, but once when we were in a hotel in Raleigh, we tried their yogurt parfait and it was really good. I asked the chef how he made it and he laughed and said it was just vanilla yogurt, fresh blueberries and granola. I love a recipe with three ingredients.

Sometimes I make these in a pretty parfait glass. Other times I have made them to go in a plastic cup. Either way they are quick, easy, healthy and good.

Yogurt Parfaits

In a glass or cup layer:

a little Granola (I use Cascadian Farms Oat and Honey)
a few fresh blueberries
Activia Vanilla Flavored Yogurt
Top with a little more granola and fresh blueberries

Blest Be the Tie That Binds - Spangler Reunion

The Spangler Family Reunion is held on the 3rd Sunday in August at Double Shoals Baptist Church in Lawndale, North Carolina. This has been going on for 103 years. Or so. The 100th anniversary of the Spangler reunion was celebrated in 2007. The reunion actually started out as a birthday party sometime in the early 1900s for Barbra Hendrick Spangler. Originally the party was held at Barbra's home. Barbra died in 1914, but the reunion of the family members continued circulating around several homes and dates. In 1947, the reunion had outgrown everyone's homes so it was moved to Double Shoals Baptist Church where is it still held every 3rd Sunday in August.

Barbra Spangler's birthday was the origin of the Spangler reunion, but the Spangler family that gathers are decendants of Spengler's who came to America from Germany in the 1700's. The spelling of the name changed somewhere along the way, but it is clear that the Cleveland County Spanglers decended from farmer Absalom Spangler. Barbra married Absalom's son, Jonathan Spangler, in 1856. Barbra and Jonathan were both 19 years old when they married and I can only imagine the hopes and dreams they had when they started off their lives together living a farm life in Lawndale. There are many stories of all the challenges that came their way over the years, but they were determined and strong people who kept their faith and family together through it all. They had five children, four boys and a girl, and the generations that followed are those who still get together every August in Lawndale.

The Spanglers were a very prolific family. At the 100th Anniversary of the reunion in 2007, there were over 400 Spangler relatives in attendance. That was a really big year. This year there were about 250 people present. It's a lot to keep up with, so the organizers developed a way to help everybody understand how they were connected. Barbra and Jonathan's five children and all those who follow were given different colored name tags. The Spanglers are very sociable people so they even have a name tag color especially for Guests. Our family name tag color is Blue since we are decendants of Barbra and Jonathan's son, Jim. It is always interesting to see people that I didn't realize were related and the tag colors really do help to figure out the connections.

The reunion begins at Noon with everyone gathering in the sanctuary of the church. There is a short business meeting and then a program. Carl Spangler presides over the meeting and Theresa Spangler Lowe brings everyone up to date on births, deaths and marriages that have occurred since the last reunion. Theresa has done an amazing amount of work on Spangler history. She has published a history of The Spanglers and a book of Spangler and other letters written during the Civil War. She has researched many court records and visited many gravesites to learn dates and other information from the tombstones. This year, she read a poem called The Dash. The theme of the poem is that what really matters in a person's life is not the birth or death date on their tombstone, but what happens during the dash.

The reunion program always ends with everyone standing and singing the hymn Blest Be The Tie That Binds. It's a great ending to that part of the reunion because alot of times you find yourself wondering why you make the effort to go to the reunion in the first place. But, when you are reminded of what your ancestors lives must have been like, and that they had hopes and dreams and fears and struggles just like we all do; standing and singing with extended family does give you a feeling of courage and strength and peace.

Next comes what everyone has been anticipating - the food. The Spanglers are good cooks. Period. The food at the Spangler reunion is always good. Traditionally, everyone brings their most special homemade dish for the Spangler reunion. My grandmother, Vada Spangler Crowder, was a really good cook. And so was her sister, Veva C. They had a little running battle about who had the best cucumber pickles or pie or whatever they had brought that year. Mama always takes ham biscuits and sometimes homemade pimiento cheese sandwiches. Mama and Daddy couldn't get there this year, but last minute Libby and I decided to go. I really mean last minute because we decided about 10:30 Sunday morning, so there wasn't alot of time to fix homemade food. I had several kinds of fruit so I cut that up to make a fruit bowl. Libby decided on fried chicken that she acquired and brought to my house. We put the fried chicken in a big cast iron chicken fryer and sprinkled a little red and black pepper over it. When we arrived at the church a little late, the reunion was already in progress. So, we slipped into the fellowship hall and put our dishes on one of the two long tables full of everyone's special recipes. We giggled because we really are both pretty good cooks and have many specialities, but this year, we had to rely on quick and doable or miss the reunion altogether.

All of the Spangler reunion food was delicious and it was fun catching up with folks. Also, it turns out people really like fruit and fried chicken. After the meal, we went to collect the fruit bowl and frying pan and both were completely empty.

It was a thought provoking day at Double Shoals Church and I am so glad that Libby and I decided spur of the moment to celebrate the tie that binds.

Blest Be the Tie That Binds

I am guessing everyone knows how to cut up fruit and acquire fried chicken, so instead of a recipe - here are the words to the hymn:

Blest be the tie that binds
Our hearts in Christian love;
The fellowship of kindred minds
Is like to that above.

Before our Father’s throne
We pour our ardent prayers;
Our fears, our hopes, our aims are one
Our comforts and our cares.

We share each other’s woes,
Our mutual burdens bear;
And often for each other flows
The sympathizing tear.

When we asunder part,
It gives us inward pain;
But we shall still be joined in heart,
And hope to meet again.

This glorious hope revives
Our courage by the way;
While each in expectation lives,
And longs to see the day.

From sorrow, toil and pain,
And sin, we shall be free,
And perfect love and friendship reign
Through all eternity

BBQ, Ribs and Cornhole

Cooking Lessons and gatherings continued last weekend with BBQ and Ribs. BBQ and Rib Cooking call for David III to bring out the Big Cooker. I nicknamed the Big Cooker 'Gretel', because it truly is big enough to have played a starring role in the Hansel and Gretel story. But most everybody just calls it the Big Cooker. And big it is. It is big enough to cook many pounds of pork, beef, chicken or turkey all at one time. The Big Cooker is powered with a propane gas tank which fires wood that pours smoke into a huge chamber with a rotisserie. David usually uses hickory smoke for BBQ and Ribs and the rotisserie has long shelves which slowly rotate to give the meat the best smoked flavor. Ribs take about 2 or 3 hours to cook, but BBQ shoulders or butts cook for about half a day. David likes to cook Boston Butts because they have less waste than shoulders.

So, last weekend, David IV and Jay and a few friends wanted to cook BBQ and Ribs for a last hurrah before everyone started heading back to college. David III also wanted to cook BBQ and Ribs for some nieces and nephews heading for a different gathering. This amount of cooking definitely called for the Big Cooker. Boston Butts go into the cooker early in the morning and require very little preparation. Baby Back Ribs go in later, but require a dry rub of the Rib Spice. David III teases about keeping the Rib Spice recipe a secret by giving one part of the recipe to Jay and the other part to David IV. Together, they mix up the blend of spices and rub them into the ribs before placing the ribs into the cooker. After checking on the Butts and Ribs throughout the day, the whole neighborhood takes on a smoky flavorful aroma.

When we serve BBQ in Shelby, NC we serve red BBQ Slaw, not green slaw. This is one of those things that can fuel an argument, but we stand firm on this one. Red slaw is chopped cabbage with a vinegar and ketchup base, but does not contain mayo.

David chops the BBQ coarsely making sure to have plenty of the crispy browned edges which are most everybody's favorite part. I would put his chopped hickory smoked Boston Butt, fresh from the Big Cooker served on a bun with red slaw, a little BBQ sauce and just a shake or two of Tabasco, up against any BBQ anywhere.

David cuts the BBQ Ribs close to the bone on one side so that each piece has plenty of the juicy, spicy, smoky rib meat. Yum. You'll need several paper towels and probably some toothpicks, but that flavor is worth it.

To go along with BBQ Boston Butt and Ribs, we serve fresh fruit, Beth's baked beans, chips and brownies with ice cream.

And then there is Cornhole which, for a change, has nothing to do with eating corn.

The first time I ever heard of Cornhole was several years ago at a party with friends Doug and Annette. Since then, Cornhole seems to be everywhere. Our nephew, Jackson, started making Cornhole Sets consisting of two regulation sized slanted cornhole boards and the corn bags to go along with them. He paints and then finishes them with a hard auto body finish. We asked him to make a set for David IV's 21st birthday and they truly are a work of art. They are also indestructible which is important because David has kept them in his truck and pulled out for use wherever folks are gathering.

Cornhole is fun because most people can play and, it can be played with any number of teams or individuals. When people are playing cornhole, there is friendly competition, but mostly alot of cheering or grimacing when the corn bag slides on the board, off the board or miraculously drops through the hole. There's no hurry with cornhole. It's alot like horsehoes in that it is a relaxed pitching game. It's played at a slow and easy pace that feels like old times. Cornhole is the perfect game to go along with a dinner of slow cooked BBQ and Ribs from the Big Cooker.

Sushi

On Wednesday night we shifted the cooking to our friend Jeanette. I can count on one hand the number of times we have turned cooking over to someone else, but Jeanette is a good bet. She and her friend Andrew opened a fusion restaurant in Shelby called Nifen. It was an excellent restaurant because of the food and the atmosphere and we were sorry when it closed in 2005. Both Jeanette and Andrew have remained friends of ours and we have actually cooked for them a couple of times. That's a little scary, but I can always count on corn and cornbread to make them happy.

This time Jeanette did the cooking because the boys wanted to learn to make sushi. All summer long, David and Jay have been talking about learning to make sushi. This was out of my range, so I called for a professional and Jeanette came to the rescue. She gave me a grocery list and she brought a few items from an Asian specialty store. There are two things that you have to have for making sushi - sushi rice because it is stickier than regular rice and something to wrap the sushi like seaweed or soy paper. I prefer soy paper, but we couldn't find it, so we used nori (seaweed) wraps. Once you have sushi rice and a sushi wrap, you can add most anything to make sushi.

We decided to make California rolls. The sushi rice was pressed firmly onto the wrap, Jeanette added strips of avocado, crab or shrimp and rolled into a tight roll. You can use a bamboo roller to make really tight rolls, but Jeanette did it with her bare hands. After all, she is a professional! After rolling the sushi, Jeanette sliced it into medium thin slices and arranged it artfully on a platter.

She also made sashimi which is rice pressed into little football shapes (a job she turned over to David IV) and covered with tuna, grouper or Scottish salmon. We had four sauces - Ponzu, Ginger, Shrimp, Soy. We also had pickled ginger and really hot Wasabi to top off our sushi. The kick of Wasabi can make your nose sting and your eyes water. And it always makes me laugh, because it reminds me of John Belushi on the old Saturday night live skit - W-A-S-A-B-I!

It turns out that making sushi is alot like making anything else. Once you have the basics down, you can tweak it with various ingredients and amounts that suit you. Learning to arrange it artfully on the platter may take a little practice!

Weeding, Corn Shocks and Spur of the Moment Dinners

Well, it's hard to believe this is the last week both boys are home for Summer 2010. David leaves for Wofford this Sunday. Classes start later on, but the football team begins their Fall Practice Monday morning. Jay will be home for a couple of weeks and then will be moving in to Gardner-Webb. GWU Basketball summer workouts have just wrapped up. So, for the last few days and a few more to come, we are making the most of having the boys with us under one roof. It has been a joy to have them home together this summer. It took a little adjusting for all of us to get use to the hours of college age boys versus 50something parents, but we all survived it and have enjoyed our time together.

Both boys have been busy working part-time, working out to stay in shape for sports, and also helping out around the house and garden. Recently, David worked on weeding the tomato plants and Jay helped with the corn freezing. After the corn freezing was done in July, David and Jay went to Mom and Dad's farm in Lattimore to cut stalks and make corn shocks. The corn is cut from the cross tie beds, stood up vertically on a wooden frame and tied at the top. Dried corn shocks were preserved to feed the cows through fall and winter. Mostly today, they are a fall decoration and reminder of days gone by.

We have had our share of summer fun with short visits here and there and with lots of people in and out of our house. During this last week of having the boys home, we have had alot of gatherings to cap off summer. Wofford Football teammates as well as other friends came for Sunday night dinner. GWU Basketball teammates came for Tuesday night dinner on the way to the airport. Both dinners were very spur of the moment so we decided what to serve based on what was on sale that day. I learned that from Mom and Dad. Dad scrutinizes the newspaper ads and always knows what is on sale at which grocery store. So, on Sunday night we had buy-one-get-one-free pork tenderloin which David grilled over charcoal, tossed salad with Carol's Fantastic French Dressing, Fresh Fruit, and Steve Royster's potatoes. For dessert, we had buy two-get three free Ice Cream. On Tuesday night, we had hamburgers which David grilled over charcoal, green beans, fresh fruit and more ice cream.

David has grilling down. He has an interesting collection of grills; charcoal, gas, hybrids, big grills, little grills, and grills on wheels. He grills year round at home, at tailgates, at fundraisers, at schools, at the lake, at the beach; pretty much anywhere. He grills meat of every variety and uses spices of every variety. Everyone is happy when David is grilling.