A Love Affair with Southern Cooking by Jean Anderson Read Free Book Online Page B

invert, shaking lightly. If the mousse refuses to budge, dip again in hot water. Once unmolded, you can smooth any rough areas with the spatula.
12. Put out a basket of homemade melbas and serve the chicken liver mousse with cocktails. Or slice and serve at the start of an elegant meal, garnishing each plate with a few gherkins and a little mesclun that has been tossed in a tart vinaigrette.
    I have lived temperately, eating little animal food, and that…as a condiment for vegetables, which constitute my principal diet.
    — THOMAS JEFFERSON
    CANDIED BACON
    MAKES ABOUT 2 DOZEN PIECES
    Few southern appetizers are easier or more crowd-pleasing than these crisp, caramelized slices of bacon. Before you dismiss sugar and pork as an unhealthful and unlikely combination, give this appetizer a try. Its flavor reminds me of the sugar-crusted hams of Easter. Note: I use nitrite-free bacon for this recipe and do not pack the brown sugar into the measuring cup. Much of the bacon fat drains off during the long, slow baking as indeed does most of the sugar. And wasn’t it only a year or so ago that foodies were touting lard (and bacon) as “the new health foods”?
     
    ¾ cup light brown sugar, not packed
    2 teaspoons dry mustard
    ½ teaspoon black pepper
    1 pound thickly sliced, hickory-smoked bacon, each slice halved crosswise
1. Preheat the oven to 325° F. Lay a large baking rack (preferably one with a cross-hatch grid) on top of an ungreased 15½ × 10½ × 1-inch jelly roll pan. Spritz the rack well with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
2. Combine the brown sugar, mustard, and pepper in a pie pan, whisking out all lumps. Dredge each piece of bacon on both sides in the sugar mixture until thickly coated.
3. Arrange the bacon on the rack, preferably not touching, and sprinkle generously with the remaining sugar mixture.
4. Slide the pan onto the middle oven rack and bake uncovered for 50 to 60 minutes or until the bacon is richly browned and crisp. No need to turn the bacon as it bakes.
5. Cool the candied bacon to room temperature and serve with cocktails.
    SAUSAGE-STUFFED MUSHROOM CAPS
    MAKES 2 DOZEN
    Some years ago I spent ten days driving up and down the James River in Virginia visiting the historic plantation houses located there. Although I marveled at their architecture and museum-caliber antiques, my main mission was to research the recipes—past and present—served in those homes. My good friend Maria Harrison Reuge, descended from an old Virginia family, supplied the entrée I needed, so I came home with a notebook full of plantation recipes. One of my favorites is this appetizer from Meri Major, of Belle Air Plantation, who treated me to lunch one day and proved why she was considered one of the best cooks in Tidewater Virginia. “I just grew up watching every kind of thing being cooked,” Meri told me. “Just about every part of the pig, wild turkey, every type of game, every type of seafood. I always had a natural affinity for cooking and was forever under foot in the kitchen.” For this snappy hors d’oeuvre, which she calls “just so simple,” Meri would use a peppery Virginia sausage. But any spicy bulk sausage will do. If only mild sausage is available, Meri suggests adding “a couple of dashes of cayenne pepper to the beaten eggs.” Tip: To keep the stuffed mushrooms hot while they’re being served, bake them in a 9-or 10-inch quiche dish attractive enough to come to the party. That’s what Meri does. “And put out plenty of pretty forked toothpicks,” she adds.
     
    24 medium-size mushrooms, wiped clean with a damp cloth
    ½ pound spicy bulk sausage meat
    1 small garlic clove, finely minced
    1 tablespoon finely minced scallion or finely snipped fresh chives
    1 small egg, well beaten
    2 / 3 cup soft white bread crumbs or 1 / 3 cup fine dry bread crumbs
    ½ teaspoon soy sauce
1. Preheat the oven to 350° F.
2. Stem the mushrooms. Set the caps aside and coarsely chop the stems.
3. Cook the