Southern Slumber: Old Southern Cookbook

Drift into a peaceful sleep as we step into a quiet Southern kitchen, where a cast iron warms cornbread on the stove and timeless recipes are read in a slow, soothing voice. 

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:02

Welcome to Southern Slumber, Bedtime Stories for Sleep. I'm glad you're here tonight. I'm Holly, and each week we visit a corner of the American South, where the air is warm, the sweet aromas of gardenias linger from the garden, and everything moves in slow motion. You can simply drift in and out, letting the sound of my voice carry you. If sleep comes, you can let it. I'll be right here as you rest. So close your eyes if you haven't already, take a slow breath in and let it fall away. Tonight we step quietly into a southern kitchen. Long before the day has begun, the house is still, wrapped in that soft blue hour before sunrise. A cast iron skillet rests on the stove, seasoned from years of use, its surface holding the memory of cornbread, whiskets and Sunday dinners. Somewhere nearby a screen door creaks softly, and the faint scent of coffee drifts through the air. A wooden table sits at the center of the room, worn smooth by time. And resting on a table is an old cookbook, its pages torn and worn, softened from time, filled with recipes passed from one generation to the next. You can almost feel the love of family and friends living inside those pages. As you breathe in slowly, you might notice a faint sweetness in the air, not strong, not overwhelming, just a memory of sugar and fresh cream warming gently, of something being stirred slowly without hurry. Your breathing begins to slow in and out, soft and steady. Your shoulders relax, your hands grow still, your mind settles to a place of love and safety, and as the pages of the book begin to turn, you don't need to follow, you don't need to remember, you can simply listen and drift. Now we will begin from this cookbook called the Southern Cookbook of Fine Old Dixie Recipes. This is the intro. People think of the Southland as a place where the sun shines brighter, the breezes are gentler, the birds sing sweeter, and the flowers are fairer. We who have edited this cookbook, which we hope you will find helpful, think of the Southland as the hearthstone of superb cooking. To attempt a Southern cookbook in one small pamphlet was an ambitious undertaking. There were many fine recipes that should have been included, but lack of space would not permit. It became the editor's problem to select as many as varied and as useful recollection of recipes as it was possible to include in those few pages. Many fine dishes had to be omitted to make way for better ones. The natural, geographic, and climatic advantages of the different sections of the sunny south have played an important part in Dixie cookery. The fertile fields, plentiful fruit trees, and waterways have each contributed bountifully. Each part of the Southland is individual and distinctive in its cookery. The Creole dish of New Orleans has nothing to do with race racial origin, but rather indicates the use of red and green peppers, onions and garlic. Oranges, grapefruit and avocados play an important part in Florida cookery. Maryland is famous for its fried chicken and its delicious seafood recipes. One thinks of Virginia, its hot breads and its sugar cured hams. Kentucky is known for its corn liquor and its flannel cakes. Only one thing is universally true. Every corner of the South is famous for its fine cookery. As you glance through this book, you will find many delicious dishes, many excellent combinations. You will find here the carefully guarded secrets of real southern cooking, palatable and tempting to the eye. You will find accurate, tried and tested recipes, each one a gastronomical delight. All your life you have heard of the traditionally famous dishes of the Southland. No names appear so frequently on hotel menus as Dixie names. No cooking seems more famous or synonymous with quality and deliciousness than Southern cooking. You will find here, published for the first time in book form, we believe the truly amazing recipe for Kentucky Virgo and the celebrated recipe for pot liquor, which is a familiar dish in almost every part of the South. We believe this book to contain a remarkable cross section of fine recipes, and we hope you will find it of valuable aid in your culinary efforts. The recipes for the bedtime story tonight will be sweets. The first recipe is New Orleans Pralines. New Orleans pralines one and a half cups of sugar, one half cup of sugar, one half cup of cream, one teaspoon of butter, one half teaspoon of vanilla, two cups of chopped pecans. Warm the sugar and cream slowly. Stir gently until soft and thick. Add the butter and vanilla and pecans heated slowly, stirred again and again until it thickens. Soft and smooth drop carefully by tablespoons on buttered paper. Nothing rushed, nothing hurried. Now we turn another page in the cookbook softly without sound to another single recipe. The next recipe is Florida coconut pralines, two cups of sugar, two cups of freshly grated coconut, one half cup of water. Slowly stir the sugar and water on the stove until it thickens into a syrup. Then take it from the stove and add the coconut and cook again, stirring and stirring slowly until it forms a soft ball. Drop the pralines on a buttered platter and let them cool, the sweetness softening, warm and delicious. I'll repeat this recipe again. It's Florida Coconut Pralines, two cups of sugar, two cups of freshly grated coconut, one half cup of water. Slowly stir the sugar and water on the stove until it thickens into a syrup. Then take it from the stove and add the coconut and cook again, stirring and stirring slowly until it forms a soft ball. Drop the pralines on a buttered platter and let them cool. The sweetness softening, warm and delicious. And now we turn another page softly, without sound, to another simple recipe. This recipe is for grandmother's caramels, two cups of sugar, one cup of melted butter, one half a cup of milk, three fourths cup of scraped chocolate, and then stir in all the ingredients and cook slowly until a hard ball forms. When done, add a little vanilla and pour into a greased pan. Cool it gently and cut easily into squares and enjoy. Now we'll turn another page softly without sound to another simple recipe. This recipe is hair chifts four pounds of pears sliced, three and a half pounds of sugar, two lemons sliced, one half a strip of crystallized chopped ginger and four cups of water. Make a syrup of the sugar and water and add the spices and pears. Boil the fruit for about an hour and then pour into jelly glasses and seal. Now we turn another page to another recipe. This recipe is candied orange or grapefruit peel. Three grapefruit peelings or six orange peelings, a dash of salt, three cups of sugar, one cup of water. Gently wash the fruit and peel carefully, removing all of the pulp. Cut into strips and add a gash of salt and cover with water. Boil steadily for 15 minutes. Stop and boil three more times, and you'll drain and cover until the syrup has boiled away. Spread on crumpled paper before it's entirely cold.

SPEAKER_01 12:15

You'll have the sweet peelings. Now we'll turn another page softly without a sound to another simple recipe.

SPEAKER_00 12:29

This recipe is Aunt Sarah's fudge, two cups of sugar, two squares of unsweetened chocolate, one cup of table cream, a pad of butter, one teaspoon of vanilla. Cook ingredients together without rushing, adding the nuts and vanilla, folding it until soft and creamy. Cool and stir again until creamy.

SPEAKER_01 13:08

Pour on a buttered dish and cut in one inch squares when cool. Repeat this one for you because it is so soothing.

SPEAKER_00 13:25

Aunt Sarah's fudge. Two cups of sugar, two squares of unsweetened chocolate, one cup of table cream, a pad of butter, one teaspoon of vanilla. Cook ingredients together without rushing, adding the nuts and vanilla, folding it until soft and creamy. Cool and stir again until creamy. Pour on a buttered dish and cut in one inch squares when cool. I'll read pear chips again. This recipe calls for four pounds of pears sliced, three and a half pounds of sugar, two lemons sliced, one half a strip of crystallized chopped ginger and four cups of water. Make a syrup of the sugar and water and add the spices and pears. Boil the fruit for about an hour and then pour into jelly glasses and seal. Let's read grandmother's caramels one more time for the night. It calls for two cups of sugar, one cup of melted butter, one half cup of milk, three fourth cup of scraped chocolate. Stir in all the ingredients and cook slowly until a hard boil forms. When done, add a little vanilla and pour into a greased pan, cool it gently and cut easily into squares and enjoy. And now everything grows quiet. The kitchen has been cleaned, and a light glow above the stove. The warmth settles. There's nothing left to prepare. Nothing left to do. There's only the stillness of the evening and the gentle rhythm of your breathing. Thank you for spending this quiet time with me. I'll be here again soon with another story to help you rest.

SPEAKER_01 16:07

And good night for now.