INGREDIENTS:
1 rack of baby back ribs
Arthur’s Dry Rub
Arthur’s Sweet-Spicy BBQ Sauce
DIRECTIONS:
Rinse and pat ribs dry. Remove thin membrane from back of ribs by slicing into it with a knife and then pulling. (This will make ribs more tender and allow meat to absorb smoke and rub.)
Coat meat generously with Arthur’s Dry Rub, massaging it into the meat. (For Arthur’s Dry Rub, combine all dry ingredients from the Sweet-Spicy BBQ Sauce and rub generously over ribs before cooking.)
Wrap ribs tightly with plastic wrap and chill for 8 hours.
Prepare a hot fire by piling charcoal on only one side of the grill, leaving the other side empty. (For gas grills, light only one side.) Always cook ribs on low setting and let cook through for tenderness. Place cooking grate on grill. Arrange ribs over unlit side.
Grill ribs, lid closed, for two hours, adding 5 to 7 charcoal pieces every 45 minutes to 1 hour, and keeping temperature between 225°F and 250°F. Add a handful of hickory chips to the charcoal every 20 to 30 minutes. Spritz ribs with apple juice from a squeeze-trigger sprayer each time you add wood chips.
Grill 2 more hours, rotating rib slabs occasionally, adding hickory chips and coals as needed to maintain the low temperature.
Remove ribs from grill and place on heavy-duty aluminum foil. Spritz ribs generously with apple juice and tightly seal. Place foil-wrapped ribs back on the grill; cook 2 more hours.
Remove ribs from foil, place flat on grill, and baste generously with Sweet-Spicy BBQ Sauce. Grill 20 more minutes. Remove from grill, and let stand 10 minutes. Cut ribs into 3-rib sections, slicing between bones.
—Betty Albright Spavins
BONITA’S SOUTHERN
FRIED CHICKEN
INGREDIENTS:
1 whole chicken cut into 8 pieces—2 breasts, 2 legs, 2 wings,
2 thighs (I do not fry the back)
¾ to 1 cup all-purpose flour
1 to 1½ teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1 to 1½ teaspoons salt (can use seasoned salt)
Vegetable oil (use enough in skillet to come up the pieces about halfway, or substitute with Crisco shortening)
DIRECTIONS:
In big bowl, soak chicken in enough salt water to cover the pieces and refrigerate overnight. (Add about 1 tablespoon of salt per cup of water.)
Drain chicken, but do not pat it dry.
In a wide, shallow bowl or plate, mix together flour, pepper and salt. Roll chicken in flour mixture to coat. Refrigerate for 20 to 30 minutes, then coat again. (This step turns a good crust into a great crust.)
Put oil in pan, heat on medium-high heat until very hot. Place the coated chicken pieces in the oil, being sure not to crowd the pan. Cover the pan and turn down the heat to medium.
After 12 to 15 minutes, the bottoms of the pieces will be brown. Turn over and cover, continue cooking until brown on all sides. Adjust the temperature if chicken seems to be browning too fast.
Remove the breasts after 12 to 15 minutes, depending on their size. The dark meat takes a little longer.
All the chicken will be ready in about a half hour. Remove from pan, drain off fat onto thick layers of paper towel, and serve with mashed potatoes and gravy.
—Lynn Watts Zegarelli
VIVI’S SOUTHERN
DEVILED EGGS
INGREDIENTS:
6 eggs
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon sweet relish
1 teaspoon mayonnaise
2 tablespoons milk
DIRECTIONS:
Bring eggs to a boil in a medium-sized pot, then reduce heat to low and allow eggs to simmer for at least 9 minutes.
Remove eggs and allow them to cool. (For faster cooling time, place eggs under cool running water.)
Peel eggs, then cut in half, collecting yokes in bowl together and cooked whites on a platter to be stuffed.
Take a fork and crush yokes until there aren’t any lumps. Add salt and pepper, relish and mayo. Mixture should not be really thick, so add milk to thin and fluff. If mixture is still too thick, add more milk in tablespoon increments. Once mixture is the consistency you like, stuff platter of eggs and serve.
—Joyce Miller Albright
BLAKE’S FRIED
GREEN TOMATOES
INGREDIENTS:
3–4 large green tomatoes, sliced
1 cup cornmeal
¼ cup flour
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cup milk
½ cup canola oil
DIRECTIONS:
Mix cornmeal and flour together with a fork until well blended.
Sprinkle tomato slices with salt and pepper and dip in milk, then coat slices in the flour and cornmeal mixture.
Pour canola oil into a large saucepan (should cover the bottom of pan but not the tomatoes). When oil is hot, add the tomatoes, but don’t put too many slices in pan at one time. They should never overlap or touch each other.
Fry tomatoes over medium to high heat until golden brown. Remove and place on paper towel to drain. Serve hot.
—Joyce Miller Albright
MERIDEE’S FRIED OKRA
INGREDIENTS:
Oil or Crisco shortening, enough to come halfway up the side of your pan
2 pounds fresh okra, sliced ½-inch thick. (Thinner than this and it burns all up into nothing. Okra must be fresh. If you don’t cook it when you get it home, it will get too hard in the fridge.)
½ cup cornmeal
½ cup buttermilk
1 cup flour
2 teaspoons seasoned salt or plain salt
¼ teaspoon cayenne (or black pepper if you don’t like spicy foods)
DIRECTIONS:
Heat oil in a large, heavy skillet (cast-iron is best) to 350°F.
In a separate bowl, mix cornmeal, flour, salt and pepper.
Dip okra in buttermilk and then in meal-flour mixture. Add to oil and cook until golden brown.
Remove and drain on paper towels. Serve hot, with hot pickled pepper sauce on the side.
—Lynn Watts Zegarelli
KITTY’S SOUTHERN
COLESLAW
INGREDIENTS:
1 small fresh cabbage, grated coarsely
Salt and pepper to taste
½ onion, finely chopped
1½ tablespoons of dill pickle relish (or chop up whole dill pickles)
1 large tablespoon mayonnaise
DIRECTIONS:
Place grated cabbage in large bowl and lightly sprinkle top with salt and pepper.
Add onions, dill pickle relish and mayo, adjusting to your preference. (If you use whole dill pickles chopped, also add a little of the pickle juice.)
Mix well and serve cold.
—Joyce Miller Albright
SOUTHERN BISCUITS
INGREDIENTS:
2 cups self-rising flour
¼ cup Crisco shortening
Buttermilk
Butter
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 450°F.
Put flour in a bowl and make a well at the center with hands. Add shortening into the well, then begin cutting it into the flour.
Add buttermilk until the mixture is sticky, then roll the mixture into flour on the sides of bowl until it forms a stiff dough.
Roll small balls of dough (should be about 2 inches round) in your hands and place onto a greased cast-iron pan. Press with fingers to form a biscuit shape. Continue until all dough is gone.
Add a pat of butter on top of ea
ch biscuit and bake until golden brown. Butter insides of biscuits immediately after removing from oven.
—Connie Hunnicutt Stringer
SONNY’S POUND CAKE
INGREDIENTS:
1 cup butter
½ cup shortening
2 cups white sugar
3 eggs
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon lemon extract
7 fluid ounces lemon-lime flavored carbonated beverage
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 325°F. Grease and flour a 10-inch Bundt pan.
In a large bowl, cream together the butter, shortening and sugar until light and fluffy.
Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla and lemon extracts. Beat in the flour alternately with the lemon-lime soda, mixing until just incorporated.
Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake in the preheated oven for 70 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool on a cake rack for 30 minutes before removing from the pan.
—Florence Bruce
MERIDEE’S SOUTHERN
PEACH COBBLER
INGREDIENTS:
1 cup of flour
1 cup of sugar
1 cup of milk (can be 1%, 2% or whole milk)
½ teaspoon vanilla flavoring
1 stick butter
1 large can of peaches (drained)
DIRECTIONS:
Mix sugar, flour, milk and vanilla in a large bowl.
Melt butter in serving dish. Pour mixture into the dish over the butter and add peaches on top.
Bake at 400°F for 30 to 40 minutes.
—Joyce Miller Albright
ALABAMA PECAN PIE
INGREDIENTS:
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup dark brown sugar
1 stick butter or margarine (softened)
3 eggs
2 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons milk
1 cup chopped pecans
1 9-inch pie shell
DIRECTIONS:
Mix all ingredients together and bake in a 9-inch pie shell for 50 minutes to 1 hour until browned and set.
—Connie Hunnicutt Stringer
KITTY’S APPLE BUNDLES
INGREDIENTS:
2 Granny Smith apples (peel and cut each apple into sixteen equal pieces)
2 tubes of store-bought crescent rolls
2 sticks margarine
1½ cups sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 can (10 oz.) Mountain Dew soft drink
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Roll two pieces of apple in a crescent roll and place in a 9x13-inch greased baking dish. Repeat until all apples are rolled.
Melt margarine and mix with sugar and cinnamon. Pour over apple bundles.
Pour Mountain Dew over bundles, and bake for approximately 45 minutes. (Yield: 16 bundles.)
—Nikki Neighbors Perez
THE FRU FRUS’ STRAWBERRY
BRIDE’S CAKE
INGREDIENTS: (Serves 12)
1 package strawberry cake mix
1 container frozen strawberries in sugar (thawed)
2 8-oz. containers of Cool Whip (thawed)
1 can sweetened condensed milk
DIRECTIONS:
Bake cake according to directions and cool.
In large punch bowl, crumble half of cake into bottom layer.
In a separate bowl, combine one container of Cool Whip, sweetened condensed milk and strawberries. Pour a layer of this strawberry mixture over crumbled cake. Repeat to create layers.
Top the final cake layer with remaining container of Cool Whip. Garnish with fresh strawberries. Refrigerate 2 hours before serving. (Cake must remain refrigerated.)
—Janie Wallace
THE FRU FRUS’ RED VELVET
GROOM’S CAKE
CAKE INGREDIENTS:
1 stick softened butter
1½ cups sugar
2 eggs
2 ounces red food coloring
1 cup buttermilk
2 heaping tablespoons cocoa
2¼ cups cake flour (don’t use all-purpose)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking soda
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Cream together butter and sugar. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each one.
In small bowl, mix red food coloring and cocoa until cocoa is completely dissolved. Add to the creamed sugar/butter.
With electric mixer on low speed, add buttermilk and flour in alternating fashion, beginning and ending with flour. Mix well, but do not overbeat (which will make cake too dense).
Add vanilla and mix well, then mix baking soda into batter.
Pour into two floured and greased 9-inch round pans. Bake in preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes. Cool and frost.
ICING
ICING INGREDIENTS:
1 pound softened cream cheese (soften by setting out—do not microwave)
4 cups confectioner’s sugar (10x), sifted
2 sticks softened unsalted butter (soften by setting out—do not microwave
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
DIRECTIONS:
In a stand mixer with the paddle, or with a hand-held mixer in a big bowl, mix cream cheese, sugar and butter on low speed until well combined.
Turn to high and mix until frosting is light and fluffy, about 4 to 5 minutes. During the mixing, scrape sides of bowl with a spatula a few times to catch everything.
Frost cake!
—Lynn Watts Zegarelli
BONITA’S GOLDEN PUNCH
INGREDIENTS:
1 large carton of orange juice
1 can of frozen lemonade
1 large can of pineapple juice
1½ cups of sugar
6 cups of water
7 bananas
2-litre bottle of 7-Up (or ginger ale)
DIRECTIONS:
Puree bananas in a blender with some of the juice. Pour into a large container with all remaining ingredients and mix well.
Fill three gallon-size Ziploc bags with 8-9 cups in each and freeze overnight.
When ready to serve, empty one bag of the frozen punch into a punch bowl and scrape it so it becomes slushy. Use about ¾ of the bottle of 7-Up (or ginger ale) per gallon bag.
—Veronica Dawson
ISBN: 9781460316450
WEDDING BELLES
Copyright © 2013 by Beth Albright
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental. This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
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