SQUARE TABLE-A COLLECTION OF RECIPES FROM OXFORD, MISSISSIPPI

Are you ready to read about another southern cookbook? SQUARE TABLE is a lovely hidden-spiral bound cookbook that was compiled by Yoknapatawpha Arts Council in 2005, but was a regional winner of the coveted Tabasco Community Cookbook award in 2006. (with the hidden spiral binding the book will lie perfectly flat or can easily be propped up in the kitchen).

Well, I will be first to admit I had never before heard of the Yoknapatawpha Arts Council (YAC). The YAC is a non-profit agency for the city and county with the mission of promoting the arts to all people in the region. YAC enriches the community by providing opportunities to participate in artistic and cultural activities.
But where does the word Yoknapatawapha come from? I turned to Google for some answers:

Yoknapatawpha County is a fictional county created by the American author William Faulkner, based upon and inspired by Lafayette County, Mississippi, and its county seat of Oxford, Mississippi.

Faulkner would often refer to Yoknapatawpha County as “my apocryphal county.” From Sartoris, onwards, Faulkner would set all but three of his novels in the county (Pylon, The Wild Palms, and A Fable were set elsewhere).

Faulkner added a map of Yoknapatawpha County at the end of Absalom, Absalom!

Yoknapatawpha County is located in northwestern Mississippi and its seat is the town of Jefferson. This fictional county is bounded on the north by the Tallahatchie River and on the south by the Yoknapatawpha River and has an area of 2,400 miles (6,200 km). Most of the eastern half (as well as a small part of the southwest corner) of the county is pine hill country.

The word Yoknapatawpha is pronounced “Yok’na pa TAW pha”). It is derived from two Chickasaw words—Yocona and petopha, meaning “split land.” Faulkner claimed to a University of Virginia audience that the compound means “water flows slow through flat land.”

Yoknapatawpha was the original name for the actual Yocona River, a tributary of the Tallahatchie which runs through the southern part of Lafayette County, of which Oxford is the seat.

So now we know where the word comes from—and have famed author William Faulkner to thank for its creation. And now you may want learn a bit about the Yoknapatawpha Arts Council which was founded in 1975.

Cookbook author and columnist John T. Edge provided a lovely introduction “Welcome to the Neighborhood” in which he notes that “Works of the sort you hold in your hands are generally called community cookbooks, the idea being that they are products of people living in the same locality who share common interests—those interests being some sort of charity or arts endeavor or other selfless work. The aim of these books is to raise dollars and to render the raising of said dollars painless…”

John T. Edge, you may know, is a cookbook author/food historian whose works include TRUCK FOOD, published by Workman Publishing in 2011, DONUTS, An American Passion, (2004) HAMBURGERS & FRIES, AN AMERICAN STORY, (2003), FRIED CHICKEN, AN AMERICAN STORY, (2002), APPLE PIE, AN AMERICAN STORY, (2002), and A GRACIOUS PLENTY, RECIPES AND RECOLECTIONS FROM THE AMERICAN SOUTH, (2000). Edge is also the director of the Southern Foodways Alliance, an institute of the Center for the Study of Southern Culture at the University of Mississippi. (He also writes for a number of food magazines and I believe I have seen him on the Food Network on various occasions.

All this being said, Mr. Edge wrote the introduction to SQUARE TABLE, in which he writes, “The organization—in this case the Yoknapatawpha Arts Council—gets funds, but it must also give of itself. And it must give with such gusto that parting with thirty-odd dollars is of no account.

The customary analgesic offered contributors to the cause is a cache of recipes, some good stories, a few pretty pictures. And SQUARE TABLE delivers the drugs of choice. No doubt about that. The art alone is worth the fare. But don’t just this book by a thumb-through, even if you’re swooning by page thirty-seven. Save a space for SQUARE TABLE on your kitchen shelf. Dog-ear the pages, edit the recipes to suit your palate. Make the book your own…”

He persuades that “a year may pass before you come to truly appreciate the effort. By then your repertoire will include smothered doves and marmalade sweet potatoes, not to mention cream cheese jalapeno venison rolls and cornbread salad….”

He also comments, with regard to the non-recipe entries in SQUARE TABLE, that by then you will have lingered over Larry Brown’s chicken stew essay, and John Grisham’s Ode to Brunswick stew…You will read what William Faulkner had to say about trout and chicken, and you will have reveled in his description of the “thin plume of supper smoke windless above the chimney” from GO DOWN, MOSES.

Indeed, the selection of Faulkner food quotes will prove so compelling that you may wonder why the editors left out that passage from THE HAMLET wherein he describes a sweet potato as a ‘moist blast of spring’s liquorish corruption’…” (For those of us who “read cookbooks like other people read novels” – SQUARE TABLE is right up our alley.)

Edge admits he is getting carried away—and hungry, so he adds that by way of this book, the people of Oxford swing wide their doors and invite you to take a seat at their collective table. These are the artworks they craft, the stories they tell, the dishes they cook—and this is how the members of Yoknapatawpha Arts Council see themselves.

The food illustrations in SQUARE TABLE are sure to make your mouth water – and it’s a tossup which you should begin reading first – the recipes? Have a couple of packages of little yellow post-its handy to mark your favorite pages—or the wealth of short historical comments interspersed throughout the cookbook. The photography, by Langdon Clay, is exquisite . I love Julia Reed’s story about her mother’s “V.D. Dinner” (the VD not an abbreviation for a venereal disease but for “Visiting Dignitaries” who her parents entertained frequently as Julia was growing up. (My own “VD” dinner for many years, the meal I could fall back on with short notice, was a Beef Burgundy over rice or noodles).

There is also a wonderful story by Larry Brown, titled “LB’s Chicken Stew”- I’ve made some hearty large pots of chili in my day, but nothing to compare with Larry’s Chicken Stew and you’ll love his story. Then there is John Grisham’s (yes, THAT John Grisham) essay “Brunswick Stew from Indiana Jones”

As for the recipes – oh, boy, are you in for a treat! In Appetizers you will find Black Bean Salsa (can’t wait to make this one) and a Five Fruit Salsa, a Roasted Red Pepper Dip and Spicy Spinach Artichoke Dip; there is a recipe for Mushrooms in Burgundy that I am looking forward to making, as well as a Stuffed Mushrooms (stuffed with artichoke hearts) and a Chutney Cheesecake; a Tex-Mex Cranberry Salsa and Crispy Asian Chicken Wings, Shrimp in Mustard Sauce and Jamaican Shrimp Spread, Mango Shrimp, and Pickled Shrimp, Tempura Shrimp with Soy-Lime Dipping Sauce and Party Smoked Salmon, Crab Cakes and Lella’s Pimiento Cheese – plus plenty of other appetizers to whet your appetite.

Under the chapter dedicated to SOUPS you will find Black Bean Soup (made with canned black beans but the cookbook committee also provides directions for converting dried black beans to use in this recipe); there is Tomato Bisque, Creamy Artichoke Soup and Pumpkin Curry Soup, Mushroom Bisque and Butchie’s Favorite Chili—I am looking forward to making the latter recipe. In my family we all have a favorite recipe for making chili but I have never tried one that calls for celery but that sounds interesting enough to try.

There is a Roasted Eggplant Soup you may want to try when you have a glut of eggplant in your garden, Baked Potato Soup and Brie soup; you will surely want to make Seafood Gumbo and Crab and Corn Bisque. There is a French Onion Soup recipe that is such a departure from my own recipe that I’ve GOT to make it. And Do read Lisa Howorth essay about her Grandmothers’ Soups.

Under SALADS, you will find an authentic recipe for Caesar Salad (which isn’t authentic unless you have anchovy fillets in it), Crunchy Apple Walnut Salad or Horseradish Salad, Red Potato Salad or Shout Hallelujah Potato Salad, Fresh Baby Tomato Salad and Asparagus Bundles, Mandarin Chicken Salad or Creole Crabmeat Salad, Lemon Caper Vinaigrette (which I am REALLY looking forward to making—I have been keeping capers on hand ever since discovering how good they are sprinkled on a white fish that you have cooking in the oven or the broiler.

There is a chapter titled PASTA & GRAINS which I think is a little unusual in a community cookbook—but I look forward to trying a recipe for Shrimp Spaghetti and Pasta A La Vodka, the Yocona River Inn’s recipe for Roasted Marinara Sauce and Angel Hair Flan, Cajun Shrimp and Pasta, and Sauteed Rice and Vegetables and Cheese Grits.

I love seafood and so will you; try Baked Shrimp or Marinated Shrimp, Shrimp Creole for a Crowd or Shrimp Scampi, Shrimp and Grits or Jambalaya, Jack’s Catfish or Catfish Cakes. Also in FISH & SEAFOOD you will find four salmon recipes—Walnut Crusted Salmon, Salmon in Dill Pepperoncini Sauce, or try Pan Roasted Salmon with Maple Glaze, a feature of the Yocona River Inn – or for a simple meal with few ingredients, try Grilled Salmon Fillets. (I was given a beautiful large fillet of salmon by my Oregon friends a few days ago—the Mister and his son had gone salmon fishing and caught two big salmons. I am leaning heavily toward the Pan Roasted Salmon with Maple glaze—but the Walnut-Crusted Salmon sounds delish too!)

Other fish entrees include Pecan Crunch Grouper*, Fillets with Parmesan Sauce and Paneed Redfish, Crawfish Fettuccini and Crawfish Delicacy. (*I began cooking with grouper when we lived in Florida. It isn’t available here in California so if you want to try making Pecan Crunch Grouper—and can’t get it, I suggest a white fish such as halibut as a substitute.

For poultry recipes, you may want to try Teriyaki Cornish Hens (I stock up on Cornish hens when they are on sale). Or Tuscan Chicken, Chicken Curry, or Marinated Chicken Breasts. There is a Cranberry Chutney Chicken that sounds delish as well as an authentic Country Captain Chicken, Homemade Chicken Pie, Chicken in Puff Pastry – and even Chicken Enchiladas!

For meat lovers, there is Chargrilled Beef Tenderloin, or Beef Fillets with Blue Cheese-Portobello Sauce, Sabbath Brisket, and Missy’s Pot Roast. If you are feeling ambitious try making Beef Bourguignonne which could easily become your favorite entrée for company. Other meat recipes include Tamale Pie or Smoked Ham, Grilled Pork Tenderloin and Southern Pork Roast.

And if you are looking for something new and different in the way of vegetables, try SQUARE TABLE’s Asparagus Stir-Fry or Zesty Carrot Casserole, Red Cabbage Casserole, Butternut Squash Casserole or Spaghetti Squash Parmesan. You may also want to try Marmalade Sweet Potatoes or Spinach Wild Rice. A good one to try when tomatoes begin ripening on the vine would be Tomato Pie or Italian Tomato Tart as served by The Flaky Bakery. Two I have marked with Post-it notes are Roasted Tomatoes and Green Tomato Casserole.

Under Breakfast & Breads look for Heirloom Tomato, Leek And Cheese Tart, or French Toast Souffle, Tomato Bread Pudding or Bundt Bread. There are also easy recipes for making Buttermilk Biscuits and Sweet Potato Biscuits, Cheese Biscuits and Hushpuppies—along with a variety of other recipes.

For Desserts you have a nice choice of recipes from which to choose –from the decadent Bourbon Chocolate Cake that boasts of ganache chocolate frosting to Le Gateau Au Chocolat cake made with some rum, or Carrot Cake, Harold’s Coconut Cake or Red Velvet Cake, all southern favorites.

For a change of pace, you may want to make Dinner Party Apple pie or Blackberry Cobbler or Caramel Cobbler. There is a recipe for Upside-Down Apple Pecan Pie, as well as White Chocolate Mousse with Strawberries, just to name a few and whet your appetite.

Cookie recipes are probably my favorite and SQUARE TABLE offers a nice variety – from Chocolate Toffee Cookies to Snickers Surprise, Rosemary Orange Shortbread and Rosemary Pepper Sugar Cookies, your choice of Raspberry Brownies or The Ultimate Ganache Brownies OR Kahlua Brownies. You can make Almond Cookie Brittle or Cranberry Date Bars…and before you reach the end of this book you will find some pages of Children Celebrations – surely, something for everybody.

To order “SQUARE TABLE from FAVORITE RECIPES PRESS/THE COOKBOOK MARKETPLACE, the cost is $35.00.

From now until January 31, 2012, the Favorite Recipes Press Cookbook Marketplace is offering a 50% discount on the cookbooks of your choice, just for Sandychatter readers. You must enter the code SCHAT-HOL at checkout. The books ship from Nashville, UPS ground.

The Favorite Recipes Press Marketplace is a great source for finding many of your favorite community cookbooks (southern and otherwise). They have nearly 300 titles from which to choose and color illustrations of the covers. You can get a catalog by writing to the Cookbook Marketplace at 2451 Atrium Way, Nashville, TN 37214 OR call them toll free at 1-800-269-6839. This discount offer is good to Sandychatter readers ONLY until January 31, 2012 – so this may be a perfect opportunity to obtain some of your most coveted cookbook titles.

Happy Cooking – and Happy Cookbook Collecting!
Sandy

MARDI GRAS TO MISTLETOE

“MARDI GRAS TO MISTLETOE” is a cookbook of festive favorites from the Junior League of Shreveport-Bossier, Louisiana. Published in 2007, it holds the distinction of the Tabasco Community Cookbook Award for 2007.

In the Foreword, Neil Johnson (also the cookbook photographer) writes, “In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and its destruction of New Orleans, the population of Baton Rouge almost doubled and Shreveport was surprised to find itself the second largest city in Louisiana, a state known the world over for its dining habits. With the sad and hopefully temporary loss of New Orleans, one of the food capitals of the world, Shreveport has the profound duty to step up to the plate, so to speak, and help the State of Louisiana live up to its culinary reputation, and, yes, even raise the bar locally. In my experience, it is doing just that. Take this cookbook as evidence.”

Johnson notes, “They say Japanese eat with their eyes and Americans eat with their noses. This may be true, but, personally, I eat with a fork, spoon, my fingers, or whatever is put before me. I also enjoy photographing whatever is put before me. It’s like a big puzzle. Assemble all the pieces and then find the best way to put them together, piece b pieces, into an attractive imagine—foreground, food, flowers, background, lights. Prop that pheasant up. Fluff the flag a big more. Move those beans a bit to the right. There are myriad ways to frame each image and a shoot could go on forever, but you see where our creative muses led us.”

Johnson also comments “The capable team and I could have gone in one of two directions with these food illustrations. The first would have been to focus on the food up tight. The second, and the one we chose, was to back off and illustrate the food and the settings, i.e., tablescapes. Thus, we included the food, but also some distinctly Northwestern Louisiana scenery and Junior League members’ homes as backgrounds: azalea bushes in the elegant backyard of Minou Fritze, the hunt room of Judy Chidlow, the Cross Lake pier of Monica Davenport-Wesley, and the stately home of Kim Campbell and Teresa Meldrum. Also,” he adds, “because we were not up close and personal with the food, we did not have to use the fine art of food styling. In other words, we avoided most of the trickery that makes food more presentable to the camera, but at the same time, inedible…”

Johnson asks, “Why do I mention this?” and provides the answer, “Because after we wrapped each shoot, much of the food could still be consumed…and consumed it was. Oh, the Grilled Tenderloin with Blueberry Sauce was delicious as was the Streusel-Topped Pumpkin Pie, Fall Beam Salad, Shrimp Pastry Shells and Crawfish and Corn Soup!”

In the Introduction to MARDI GRAS TO MISTLETOE, the cookbook committee writes, “Whether you were born in Northwest Louisiana, transplanted from somewhere else, or are just a visitor passing through, you will most likely notice that there’s something special about our area. While you may not be able to put your finger on it, you will probably agree that it’s a good thing. Few things define the culture of a region like its festivals and food, and that is exactly what we have attempted to capture in the pages of MARDI GRAS TO MISTLETOE. This cookbook is a collection of favorite recipes intermingled with the time-honored festivals and celebrations that represent the traditions and soul of our home…the name Louisiana rolls off the tongue with a lilt that tickles the soul and conjures up imagines of a unique and fascinating culture and lifestyle well known for its deep, fun-loving French Creole influence. The heritage of the people of the Northwest portion of the state make up a rich cultural gumbo, which includes early American pioneers, African Americans, French Canadian exiles, European settlers, Native Americans and many others. With this mixture it’s no wonder that the people, traditions, and festivals of modern-day Northwest Louisiana are also unique and colorful…”

And because one of the purposes of the Junior League is to help make this community a better place, the decision was made to show off this community. Says Neil Johnson, “Thus we have interspersed images of tablescapes with images of the beauty and events that make this community wonderfully unique things, like Pumpkin Shine on Line, The Barksdale Air Force Base Air Show, Mardi Gras Parades, and the spring explosion of azalea blossoms….”

Johnson says it has been his distinct opportunity to photograph every facet of this community since the mid-1970s. Sharing these imaged with viewers makes the effort to create them worth it.

He also says “it should make the community proud to consider what the Junior League has accomplished, and continues to accomplish, generation after generation. This may seem like simply an attractive and helpful cookbook, but if you look closely and breathe deeply, you will realize it has been carefully and lovingly marinated with the message and goals of the Junior League of Shreveport-Bossier…” He adds that he hopes this cookbook will inspire cooks through this corner of the state and far outside, to continue the culinary traditions of Louisiana and to instill in its users continuing pride in Northwest Louisiana and the Junior League.

And in the Preface (some information we have shared with blog readers in the past but some things are worth repeating) – it is noted that “since the 1940s, Junior Leagues from across the nation have been raising funds with their cookbooks. The Junior League of Minneapolis published the first one in 1943. By the 1950s, Junior League Cookbooks were recognized as key fund-raising tools throughout the organization. Presently, there are more than two hundred such cookbooks in print, raising funds for the various Leagues and their community projects.

The Junior League of Shreveport-Bossier began its cookbook fund-raising with A COOK’S TOUR, in 1964 (which I have; I went right to it on my Louisiana cookbook shelf). The success of this cookbook and the introduction of the Red River Revel Arts Festival prompted the publishing of the REVEL cookbook in 1979. (I have this one too). Now, in the new millennium, the Junior League is proud to present their new cookbook, MARDI GRAS TO MISTLETOE.

As the title suggests, MARDI GRAS TO MISTLETOE pays tribute to the festivals and traditions celebrated by the people of Northwest Louisiana. League members, their families, and favorite local restaurants donated recipes, which were then tirelessly tested to make sure they were as easy to prepare as they were tasty.* To complement the festive recipes, a talented and well known local photographer, Neil Johnson, was recruited to bring visual flair to the cookbook. Finally, months of research and editing tied it all together.

(*Sandy’s cooknote – just so you know, not ALL recipes for community cookbooks are tested beforehand—the major exception to this is probably the Junior League committees who take so much pride in presenting letter-perfect and thoroughly tested recipes. Yeah, you will probably pay a little more for a Junior League cookbook—but in the long run you will find that it’s really worth it).

Each of the twelve chapters in “Mardi Gras to Mistletoe” highlights a particular month of the year and begins with a brief narrative of the history, festivals, and traditions celebrated in that month. The chapters are then filled with recipes that can be used to create a seasonal menu or a stand alone special dish.

And, (also from the Introduction), we learn that Northwest Louisiana likes to celebrate and you can find a festival in honor of almost anything, from flowers indigenous to the region to the fruits and vegetables harvested in the area. You can also attend festivals that honor the people who have contributed to the culture and history of Northwest Louisiana, ranging from the famous such as guitarist James Burton, to the infamous, such as Bonnie and Clyde. There is no denying, though, that food always seems to be the center of any Northwest Louisiana celebration.

This is such a fantastic cookbook that I can’t decide where to begin—the photographs! The holidays and festivals! And OH! The recipes!

For all of us who read cookbooks like novels (and our number is legend), MARDI GRAS TO MISTLETOE is right up our alley. Some you may want to check out? Vodka Snow or Champagne sorbet (serves 6 to 8) are perfect for a holiday party or any time. If you love asparagus (as do I and my youngest son), Asparagus Party Rolls is a great appetizer for your next shing-dig and the recipe makes 40 rolls. Jack Quesadillas with Cranberry Pear Relish makes 8 quesadillas and each one can be cut into six wedges and the relish can be made in advance. (I love cranberry relish and enjoy experimenting with them to make something different – this recipe uses canned cranberry sauce so you don’t have to wait for fresh cranberries to become available (*Although, I suspect most cooks do as I do and stock up on fresh cranberries when they are on sale and then freeze them). There is a recipe called Derby Cheese Torta that contains spinach and some chutney that is sure to become a favorite and serves 15 to 20. And for something different in a dip you may want to try Black-Eyed Pea dip (especially good to serve for a New Year’s Eve party if you believe in eating black eyed peas for good luck in the coming year. In my family that good luck food was – sauerkraut. But I digress).

For chocolate lovers you will surely want to make Chocolate Amaretto Cheesecake or the Mabry House* White and dark Chocolate Torte. (*The Mabry House is an upscale restaurant but the house itself was built in 1902 and is on the National Register of historic places—what fun it would be to go there for dinner. Another decadent recipe for chocolate lovers is German Chocolate Fondue—only three ingredients go into making the fondue and then you can serve it with an assortment of chunks of fresh fruit—yum! Other chocolate recipes include Oreo Balls and White Chocolate Macadamia Crème Brulee, Black Forest Brownies, and for the children (or as in my case, grandchildren) there is a sure to please recipe for making chocolate play dough. The kids can play with the chocolate play dough and when they get hungry for a snack—eat it! And, only 5 ingredients go into making chocolate play dough –most of which I generally have on hand in the frig or in the pantry. (Also included is a recipe for making homemade non-edible play dough that you can keep on hand in a plastic bag or an airtight container).
Another white chocolate recipe is White Chocolate Raspberry Tart—only 6 ingredients but oh, it does sound yummy. (My two favorite fruits are blackberries and raspberries). And, look for Chocolate Zucchini Bread—sure to be a winner and great to make when you have a glut of zucchinis growing in your garden (This is a great recipe to make in small loaves that you can freeze when you have more zucchinis than you know what to do with—and have them on hand to give away at Christmas, with a little jar of jelly or jam). A few other chocolate recipes include Chocolate Chip Pound Cake, and Grand Chocolate Pie, and Andes chocolate Mint Cookies.

Now, I may have misled you into thinking this is just a cookbook of chocolate recipes—my bad! Such is not the case. MARDI GRAS TO MISTLETOE is packed with recipes sure to become family favorites—Heavenly Chicken Casserole, for instance, great for a small dinner party, Layered Crab Meat Spread, which can be made in advance, Pepper Jelly-Glazed Carrots (only 4 ingredients but what a great idea—one I am looking forward to trying.

There recipes for Louisiana favorites—Shrimp Etouffee, Jambalaya, Cajun Strata, and the famous traditional Mardi Gras King Cake. The cookbook committee notes that this recipe has a lot of steps but none of them are difficult. They also note that hundreds of thousands of Mardi Gras cakes are consumed at parties worldwide every year and a Mardi Gras party would not be complete without one.

There are salad recipes such as Spring Pea Salad and Orzo and Shrimp Salad, Layered Green Salad (one of my favorites—I’ve been making this for years) – there is Almond Mandarin Salad, and Rice and Peach Salad, or you may want to try Pear and Blue Cheese Salad. There is a Marinated Artichoke Salad or Oriental Asparagus Salad—just a sampling of the many fruit or vegetable salads for you to try. There are also some salads to serve as a main dish, such as Brown Rice Chicken Cranberry Salad and Pasta Salad with Steak.

I have an ongoing love affair going with salsas (you may have noted this on my blog from some of the salsa recipes I have shared with you) – but MARDI GRAS TO MISTLETOE has some that are new to me – such as Blueberry Salsa and a Cranberry Salsa…and in Sauces there is a Blueberry Sauce that I have made, and love This one can be served with Blueberry Sausage Breakfast Cake which is sure to become a favorite. In my family we do several brunches a year—I will serve this recipe when it’s my turn to do a breakfast or brunch. And how about Salmon with Peach Jam? Only a few ingredients (4 not counting the salmon fillets) and it sounds divine. And I almost always have homemade peach jam in my jelly cupboard.

One of the features I like and appreciate about MARDI GRAS TO MISTLETOE is that—as I have noted along the way—many of the recipes don’t contain too many ingredients and are easy enough for a novice cook to prepare. I think there was a period of time in our cookbook history when the committees compiling a cookbook seemed to think “more was better” – as in more ingredients, a lot of directions. Today’s cook is usually someone raising a family and holding down a job…yes, you know I am retired now but I spent 27 years at my last job, before retiring and by then my children were grown. I have the utmost sympathy for young mothers, such as my nieces and daughters in law, who work long hours and then come home to make dinner. MARDI GRAS TO MISTLETOE is sure to become one of your favorite go-to cookbooks. This is a well designed, heavily endowed cookbook containing over four hundred recipes. Isn’t that fantastic?

To order “MARDI GRAS TO MISTLETOE” from THE COOKBOOK MARKETPLACE, the cost is $26.95.
From now until January 31, 2012, the Favorite Recipes Press Cookbook Marketplace is offering a 50% discount on the cookbooks of your choice, to Sandychatter readers. You must enter the code SCHAT-HOL at checkout. The books ship from Nashville, UPS ground.

The Favorite Recipes Press Marketplace is a great source for finding many of your favorite community cookbooks (southern and otherwise). They have nearly 300 titles from which to choose and color illustrations of the covers. You can get a catalog by writing to the Cookbook Marketplace at 2451 Atrium Way, Nashville, TN 37214 OR call them toll free at 1-800-269-6839. This discount offer is good to Sandychatter readers ONLY until January 31, 2012 – so this may be a perfect opportunity to obtain some of your most coveted cookbook titles.

REVEL and A COOK’S TOUR are also both available at Favorite Recipes Press, through the Cookbook Marketplace and are $19.95 each-however! You can obtain all three of these cookbooks @ 50% off if you order by January 31, 2012 and enter the code SCHAT-HOL at checkout. This is a golden opportunity to get some of the cookbooks you want at a great discount price; to order by phone call 1-800-269-6839 or visit the Marketplace website at www.cookbookmarketplace.com.

Happy cookbook collecting!

Sandy

JANUARY 1, 2012 – NEW BEGINNINGS

Day 1, JANUARY 1, 2012 “NEW BEGINNINGS”

In 2008, when we learned we would have to move and I bought a house in Quartz Hill, around the corner from my youngest son and his family, although I didn’t realize it at the time, that was a new beginning. It took us many months to completely unpack and settle into our new surroundings.

From the onset, Bob chose a long room built behind the garage but attached to the structure for his workshop. He had his desk, drafting table, television, coffee maker and shelves of books and magazines at his fingertips and it may have been his favorite place/retreat. In 2010, Bob rebuilt our secret garden, a gazebo, and found a perfect spot for it under trees and behind a wall that divides part of our back yard from another section of back yard. We planted fruit trees in the far back yard and found grape vines growing there, suffering from years of neglect. Then after rebuilding the secret garden, Bob built a library for me out of half of the garage. As quickly as he put up shelves, I unpacked boxes of books and filled them.

It was a crowning achievement.

Sometime in 2010 he began having problems swallowing. We thought it might be acid reflux. It wasn’t until after we had gone to a dinner in Gorman for a friend’s birthday, and Bob was unable to eat a steak, that he conceded he needed to see a doctor. Then, for just over a year, we went through a rollercoaster ride of trips to doctors and hospitals until it all culminated in his death September 21-22 when he began to spit up blood. It wasn’t the cancer in his esophagus that killed him. I believe it was scarring from radiation in his esophagus and the stretching procedure that his gastroenterologist did while doing endoscopies, to open his esophagus back up.

Bob had a brief respite after a stent was implanted in July. He began to eat again and regained ten pounds. It gave us a false hope. The morning of September 21, he wakened me, telling me he was spitting up blood. We didn’t know it, but it was the beginning of the end.

September 22 in the hospital I said my goodbyes holding one of his hands while Keara held the other. I had him cremated and went for five days on a long postponed trip to Cincinnati to see some cousins. It was another brief respite.

It crossed my mind that for the first time in my life I am truly living alone (even though Ethan and Savannah have spent many nights here keeping me company since their grandpa died). I lived at home with my parents until I married at the age of 18. When he and I divorced in 1985-86 I had one or more of my sons always living with me. Chris & Kelly were teenagers and took turns living with me or their father. I rented a house in Van Nuys, the first time I undertook finding a place of my own in which to live. In 1986 I met Bob and he lived in an apartment nearby but was always nearby and often spent the night at my place.

In 1989, Bob and Kelly and I moved into the Arleta house. (I had lived there with Jim and the boys from 1974-79 until we bought a house in Florida). It became available and with help from Gary, a new friend of Bob’s, we moved back to 9187 Arleta Avenue. I didn’t think of the move from Wyandotte Street to Arleta Avenue as a new beginning even though, I suppose it was.

For the first time in my life I am living alone. I am still struggling with the loss of my partner of twenty six years but suspect I may adapt before too long. This week, I returned to bowling – the league secretary called me a few days ago to tell me of an opening on the Grandmas and Grandpas league. A few weeks ago, I returned to Weight Watchers on Wednesday Evenings. I HOPE I can find my way back into writing on a regular basis.

January, 2012 is my month for new beginnings.

Sandra Lee Smith

LEFTOVER CAKE

LEFTOVER CAKE

When I was a little girl,
perhaps once or twice a year
my parents would have a party,
sometimes it was a New Years Eve celebration
to which children were not invited;
I’m not sure what we did
to occupy ourselves in our rooms on the second floor,
but what I remember is
the next morning
there were many tumblers
with an inch or two of liquid
at the bottom—but which did not taste very good.
I suspect my brothers may have
poured all the dregs together
to see what they had missed,
but what I remember best
is the remains of a cake
Left laying out on the table
now crusty and dried out–
but cake…was cake….no matter what its condition
so while my parents slept
We polished off the cake.

–Sandra Lee Smith

WHEN MAMA BAKES A CAKE

Sometimes when breakfast dishes have
Been washed and put away,
My mama looks at me and says
“Let’s bake a cake today!”
From a peg she takes her apron
While from a low peg, I take mine,
We tie the strings behind our backs,
And don’t we look just fine?
Mama’s biggest yellow bowl
Stands upon the kitchen table,
And I step up on a little stool,
To help, because I’m able.
Mama cracks some eggs fresh from the barn,
I take a fork and stir them up,
You have to beat those eggs a lot,
Before you can add a cup
Of sugar, butter, flour too,
And soda for the rising,
And Mama grates some nutmeg in,
For a taste that’s right surprising;
It’s my job to butter up the pans
And dust them both with flour,
And then the cakes go into bake,
And that takes ‘near an hour.
While they bake, we tidied up,
And tiptoe cross the floor,
Cause you don’t want those cakes to fall,
And have to make some more.
The kitchen fills with spicy scent,
And I can hardly stand the wait,
It’s always something special, when
My Mama bakes a cake.

–Sandra Lee Smith

NO TIES ON EARTH TO BIND HIM (FOR ROBERT)

NO TIES ON EARTH TO BIND HIM
(For Robert)

No ties on earth to bind him,
This spirit freely soars,
Spanning mighty mountains,
Skimming distant shores.
Amongst the stars in heaven,
Beyond the reach of man,
This spirit wakes in wonder,
And cries aloud, “I can!”

And seeing those who loved him,
Still bound by earthly ties,
He hears their sounds of mourning,
And feels their sorrowed cries.
Yet from that timeless, distant space,
Beyond the reach of man,
His spirit wakes in wonder,
And calls to home, “I am!”

–Sandra Lee Smith,
September 22, 2011

ONE DAY WHEN MAMA AND PAPA WENT TO TOWN

One summer morning I woke up
And much to my surprise,
I didn’t smell the coffee brewing;
I went down—and could not believe my eyes;

There mama sat, in her Sunday best
With gloves, her purse and hat –
Then pa came in –and he’s dressed up too,
What could I make of that!

He said “The team is hitched to go”
Mama said “I’m ready too,
I just need to give young sis a list
Of things for her to do”

My eyes were wide; I took the list
That mama wrote for me;
I was to go and gather eggs,
And give the hens some feed;

I was to take some jars from the pantry shelf,
Some applesauce and beets,
And there was bread and butter that
My brother and I could eat.

”He’s got his own chores,” Papa said,
And “You have got your own,
Don’t want to hear about no fussing,
Feuding over some old bone”

“Yessir,” I said, my eyes still on
The list that seemed so long,
Ma said “I want you to make up supper
And we’ll eat when we get home”

“Yes mam,” I answered, feeling fearful,
They’d never gone away before;
Mama gave me a kiss and off they went
Out through the kitchen door.

I fixed tea for Bud and milk for me,
And got out bread and jelly,
I ate a lot of fresh baked bread
To satisfy my belly.

Then Bud went out to tend the pigs
And led the cows to pasture,
Then he went out to sow the seed
That Pa said he should master.

With mama’s basket, I gathered eggs,
And fed the hens some mash,
Mama sells the eggs in town,
That’s how she gets some cash.

I cleaned the eggs like mama did,
And laid them down in straw,
I swept the kitchen and the yard,
It wasn’t hard at all.

I brought up applesauce and beets,
And then thought I’d bake a cake;
I followed mama’s recipe
And put it in to bake,

From the smokehouse I cut a slice
Of ham and chopped it up,
Then in a pot I put runner beans
And carrots, ‘bout a cup,

Midday my brother came to eat
More mama’s bread, and butter,
Then I tidied up the kitchen,
So there wasn’t any clutter.

‘Bout supper time it all was done,
And I had the table set,
When we heard the wagon wheels,
Bud said “That’s them, I bet”.

Oh, pa and mama praised us both
And said we’d done them proud,
They ate the supper that I made,
And Pat said that he allowed

He’d left some room to try the cake,
I fixed the plates with pride.
I saw my mama’s eyes fill up;
The first time I’d seen her cry.

Then Papa said “We have some news”
We wondered what it was,
They went to see the bank, today,
And the reason was, because,

He said they’d paid the mortgage off,
The farm was free and clear.
Bud and I stood up and clapped
And gave a rousing cheer.

I really didn’t understand
How much it meant, that day,
Years would pass before I knew,
By now I’m old and gray;

Bud and I stayed on the farm
Long after our folks had died,
And now the land belongs to us;
I feel gratitude, inside;

It could have all been left to Bud,
A lot of people think that way,
But papa left it to me, too,
There was naught anyone could say.

And so I cooked and kept the house
And tended to Ma’s hens;
I sold the eggs to folks in town.
The circle never ends.

–Sandra Lee Smith

WHEN IT’S CHRISTMAS ON THE PRAIRIE

Come winter on the prairie and as far as you can see,
Snow makes a great white blanket across the endless prairie sea,
Pa gets the big sleigh from the barn and greases up the blades,
To make the pulling easier for the horses, on the grades.

Mama takes out the oldest blankets, that help to keep us warm,
Pa checks the sleigh most carefully, to keep us all from harm.
Then snug in mittens, scarves and coats that mama made from wool,
Pa takes us every morning to our little country school.

He stays a while to help our teacher fill the old wood bin,
She thanks him with a curtsy, brings out the gentleman in him.
We students hang our coats and things in the cloak room at the back,
And teacher claps her hands and says, “Since Christmas’s coming that—

Today we’re going to decorate a tree that kind Mr. Mc Clune
Went up north to get for us and will bring it to us soon,
For now we’ll all make popcorn garlands and chains of colored paper,”
And from a box she lifts up a silver star—nothing had escaped her.

No reading, writin’, rithmetic, no studying today!
We’re going to decorate a tree and enjoy a day of play;
On Christmas Eve our families will come to see the tree,
And Santa will come and give us each a bag of candy, free!

“Tain’t no Santa,” One of the big boys in the back row shouted out,
The little girls in front began to shriek and cry and pout;
My younger sis is with the little girls that were in tears.
I knew I had to do something to take away their fears.

“You take that back!” I said with fists clenched, ready for a fight,
When teacher intervened and said “Now, boys, this isn’t right.
On Christmas we all celebrate the birth of Christ the King,
George, you say you’re sorry and we’ll all forget this thing.”

Then teacher told a story, while we cut and pasted rings,
As we made a garland for our tree, she told of many things,
Of the birth of one small baby, in a manger far away,
And how folks far away and near remember Him on this day.

She told about Saint Nicholas who filled the wooden shoes,
Of all the good Dutch boys and girls to remember this Good News,
She said how now, we all remember Jesus in this way,
And all of us remember Him on every Christmas Day.

The big boy, George, he was abashed, and said he didn’t mean it,
But he had no ma or pa and no Santa Claus would visit;
He lived with one old aunt who had no time for foolishness,
No time for trees or holly, for Santa Claus or Christmas.

On Christmas Eve our families came and crowded in the room,
We’d cleaned our desks, the blackboard, and candles chased off gloom,
Then Santa came and brought a sack, and we all lined up to get
A little bag of peppermints, a night we’d not forget.

When all the candy had been passed out, Santa stood upright
And asked, “I wonder if a boy named George is here tonight?”
George came forward and I noticed that his face had turned beet red;
As he said “I’m sorry, Santa, I really didn’t mean to be so bad.”

“Oh, I know that!” Santa laughed, “Why, I know what’s good and true,
There’s just one gift I have to give, and George this one’s for you!”
And from his burlap bag, he reached and handed George a box;
George opened it and all of us heard him gasp with shock;

Inside the box there was a very fine Swiss army knife;
George’s eyes lit up with wonder, “I’ve wanted one all my life,
But,” he said, “I never told this to a single living soul!”
Santa patted him on his shoulder and said “Oh, George, I know!”

We all shed tears and teacher said “Let us sing a song of praise,
That we all remember this night all our living days.”
And so we sang, then hurried home in the cold night with elation,
Before we left, I heard my ma extend a special invitation.

George said he didn’t think his aunt ever would agree,
Ma said “I won’t take no for an answer; dinner is at three.”
And so next day, George and his aunt and our teacher came for dinner,
That all of us told mama was so fine and sure a winner.

In the parlor there were presents for sis and George and me,
Scarves and mittens ma had stitched and it was plain to see
That no one had done this much for George in all his sorry life,
“Scarves and mittens!” George exclaimed, “And a fine Swiss Army knife!”

We all sipped hot tea with cookies ma had baked, just for this day,
And our guests all carried home tins of cookies wrapped so gay,
Before we went to bed that night, I heard my mother whisper,
“You dear old Claus, I do believe, I’d like to kiss your whiskers!”

Years later, when my pa was old frail and could not see,
I ventured then to ask him what had long been bothering me,
“How could you know,” I asked him, “About George and that army knife?”
“Because,” he said, “I wanted one, most of my own life.”

George married my kid sister and they have a bunch of boys;
Their farm is off in Kansas and sis tells me it’s a joy,
For George just loves his rowdy bunch, for them he’d give his life,
And every one of those young boys owns a fine Swiss Army knife.

–Sandra Lee Smith, 2010

(*This was a poem I wrote in a small collection of poems called An American Childhood, for my poetry club in 2010. Then my Canadian girlfriend, Doreen, took all of the American Childhood poetry and put it together with illustrations and one of her own poems, and compiled a booklet titled MAMA IN THE KITCHEN/AN AMERICAN CHILDHOOD, 1900, RECEIPTS AND VERSE WRITTEN BY SANDRA LEE SMITH).

THE APPROACH OF WINTER…AN AMERICAN CHILDHOOD

THE APPROACH OF WINTER

We knew that it was coming; all the leaves had fallen down
And lay in wet and heavy clumps and clusters on the ground;
The cats and kits and dogs and pups had gotten winter coats,
And ice was forming on the pond where in summer we sailed boats;
My ma had taken out our scarves, warm mittens, and galoshes,
And got out heavy blankets that we laid across the horses;
The cellar was jam-packed with fruit and veggies ma had canned
All through the scorching summer months, and we all took a hand
Making jams and jellies, packing eggs in lots of straw;
Apples filled the barrels and it was late in fall
When papa butchered us a pig and hung the hams to cure,
We all helped make the sausages; the smokehouse was a lure;
We all strung miles of pole beans that ma hung up in the rafters,
And thought that we would surely eat like kings forever after,
Along with apple slices that she hung up there to dry,
On some snowy winter morn, they’d be great to fry;
We gathered nuts from all the trees and put them all in sacks
And in the cellar loaded squash where pa had put up racks,
Ma quilted through the winter making covers for our beds,
And using feathers from the geese, made pillows for our heads;
Pa and I had chopped up wood until the shed was overflowing,
Through the cold and bitter months, the woodstove would be glowing,
The pantry shelves were overfull with flour, salt and honey,
All the things that ma had bought selling eggs to get the money;
The cabbages had been shredded and were salted in a crock,
And when we had put up everything, my ma and pa took stock
And pa would look into the skies and say that winter’s here;
But we would have a lot to eat and there was naught to fear.

–SANDRA LEE SMITH

T’WAS A WEEK BEFORE CHRISTMAS

T’WAS A WEEK BEFORE CHRISTMAS

T’was a week before Christmas
And all through the house,
Gift-wrap was littered,
It even covered a spouse,
Who sat forlorn in his old easy chair,
Wondering if there was
An extra cookie to spare—
For cookies were baked
And filled every tin,
But to eat even one
Would be considered a sin—
(Unless it was one that was broken or burned)
Decorations hung every where that you turned.
In the guest room, presents were piled everywhere,
And trees were put up, not a moment to spare—
Twinkling lights and ornaments too,
But it will look pretty, when we’re all through—
I’ve scorched all my fingers giving candy a test
And thought it was time that I had a good rest;
When out on the roof there arose such a clatter,
I dashed to the door to see what was the matter;
Up on a ladder, Grandpa swayed to and fro—
Trying to decide where the fake reindeer should go—
I was sure he would fall and smash all the lights,
I shouted come down and we’ll fix it all right!
The dollhouse is back where it belongs
And hundreds of CDs play holiday songs,
Pork Loin’s in the freezer and wood on the fire,
Eggnog in the frig we hope will inspire
But if not there is brandy, bourbon, and port,
To serve every guest who is a good sport;
We’ll work at it all until we fall with a jerk
And let Santa get credit for all our hard work!

–Sandra Lee Smith