The Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Sixties Cookbook (25 page)

3.
Bake until the yams are tender, about 30 minutes. Remove from the oven. If the yams seem soupy, remove some of the syrup with a bulb baster. Position the rack about 6 inches from the source of heat and preheat the broiler.

4.
Sprinkle the marshmallows over the yams. Broil just until the marshmallows are lightly browned, about 3 minutes. Serve hot.

KITCHEN TIME MACHINE

Substitute 1 (40-ounce) can candied yams in syrup for the freshly prepared yams. Sprinkle with the brown sugar, dot with the butter, and bake and top as directed in the recipe.

EVERYONE LOVES IT STUFFING

MAKES 12 SERVINGS

Here’s a basic stuffing that every member of the family is bound to enjoy—unless someone likes oyster stuffing, and then they have to fend for themselves. Stuffing food into meat cavities has been around as a written recipe since Roman times (although the prim Victorians adopted the less scandalous moniker of “dressing”). To make history with your bird, always use warm, freshly prepared stuffing so it is likely to cook to the safe eating temperature of 160°F, something that may not happen if the stuffing is made ahead and refrigerated. You will always have leftover stuffing, as it all cannot fit inside of the fowl, so bake it in a shallow casserole as a side dish.

1 pound firm white sandwich bread, cut into ½-inch cubes (10 cups)

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter

1 large onion, chopped

3 medium celery ribs with leaves, chopped

¼cup chopped fresh parsley

3 cups canned reduced-sodium chicken broth or homemade turkey stock (see the stock made from the turkey giblets on
page 109
), as needed

2 teaspoons poultry seasoning

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1.
The night before making the stuffing, spread the bread cubes out on baking sheets. Let stand at room temperature, uncovered, to dry and stale.

2.
The next day, melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and celery and cover. Cook, stirring often, until the onion is golden, about 10 minutes.

3.
Scrape the vegetables and butter into a large bowl. Add the bread cubes and parsley. Stir in enough of the broth to moisten the stuffing, about 2½ cups. Season with the poultry seasoning. Use to stuff the turkey, or place in a buttered baking dish, drizzle with an additional ½ cup broth, cover, and bake as a side dish.

KITCHEN TIME MACHINE

Substitute 1 (14-ounce) bag bread stuffing cubes (seasoned or plain) for the cubed bread.

HOMEMADE BISCUITS

MAKES 1 DOZEN

There is nothing like the aroma of freshly baked biscuits to smooth the edges of a frazzled day. You can make your biscuits from a mix, with shortening instead of lard, with regular milk, with standard flour . . . or you can make them extra special. Here we share the little Southern tricks that make all the difference. Freeze any leftovers to have on hand to toast for a quick breakfast or to serve with Chicken à la King (
page 106
).

½ cups all-purpose flour

1½ cups cake flour (not self-rising)

2½ teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

8 tablespoons chilled lard (see Note)

1 cup buttermilk, as needed

1.
Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 400°F.

2.
Sift the flour, cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together into a medium bowl. Add the lard. Use a pastry blender to cut the lard into the flour mixture until the mixture resembles coarse bread crumbs with pea-sized pieces of lard. Stir in enough of the buttermilk to make a soft dough that cleans the sides of the bowl.

3.
Dust a work surface with flour. Turn the dough out onto the work surface and knead a few times to smooth the dough. Pat the dough into a rectangle a little more than ¾ inch thick. Using a 2 ½-inch-diameter biscuit cutter, cut out the biscuits. Gather up the scraps, knead together very briefly, and pat and cut out more biscuits. Continue until all of the dough has been used. The key here is to handle the dough very lightly, especially when reusing the scraps, as overworked dough makes tough biscuits. (For rectangular biscuits, which do not require a biscuit cutter and do not create scraps, pat the dough into a 9-by-7-inch rectangle. Cut lengthwise into thirds, and crosswise into quarters, to make 12 rectangles.)

4.
Arrange on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake until the biscuits have risen and are golden brown, about 20 minutes. Serve hot.

NOTE:
You can substitute vegetable shortening for the lard. Or use unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch cubes. But we do declare, lard makes the flakiest, tastiest biscuits.

Fat . . . with Flavor

Paula Deen is right: everything tastes better with butter. And according to the Harvard School of Public Health, butter isn’t as unhealthy as we’ve been led to believe.

While consuming large quantities of any fat isn’t a great idea for optimum health, natural products like butter and its creamy white cousin lard are better choices than hydrogenated, chemically-created alternatives like margarine and shortening that contain trans fats. And while there are trans fat-free versions, the real issue is flavor. Have you ever tasted shortening? Enough said.

Or, give lard a try. The trick is to find minimally processed lard. Ask for it at privately owned butcher shops. They aren’t as easy to find as they used to be, but there is a burgeoning artisan butcher movement going on, and there might be one in your vicinity. The meat vendors at many farmers’ markets also now sell lard. When you make the Homemade Biscuits (
page 139
) with lard, you will be a convert. (But we do provide alternatives for those of you who are not pork eaters.)

BUTTERMILK DINNER ROLLS

MAKES 8 ROLLS

Is there a kid that doesn’t love fresh dinner rolls more than anything else on the table? Is there an adult? Try an unscientific test at your dinner table with these feather-light homemade rolls. Buttermilk is the secret weapon of many a great baker, and it’s what elevates this divine bread. Its tangy acidity works to tenderize the flour, reacts with baking soda for a lively rise, and adds flavor too.

1 (¼-ounce) envelope active dry yeast (see Note on opposite page)

2 tablespoons warm (105°F to 115°F) water

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for the baking pan

¾ cup buttermilk

1 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon salt

¾ teaspoon baking soda

2⅔ cups all-purpose flour, as needed

1.
Sprinkle the yeast over the warm water in a small bowl. Let stand until the yeast softens, about 5 minutes. Stir to dissolve the yeast.

2.
Melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Add the buttermilk and remove from the heat. Let stand, stirring often, until the buttermilk feels lukewarm to the touch, about 2 minutes. Pour into a large bowl. Add the sugar, salt, and baking soda and stir to combine. Gradually stir in enough of the flour to make a soft dough. Flour the work surface. Turn the dough out onto the work surface and knead, adding more of the flour as necessary (if the dough is tacky, but not sticking to the work surface, you have enough flour), to make a smooth, supple dough, about 6 minutes.

To make with a heavy-duty standing mixer
, pour the buttermilk mixture into the work bowl. Add the sugar, salt, and baking soda. Mix with the paddle attachment on low speed. Gradually add enough flour to make a dough that cleans the sides of the bowl. Change the paddle attachment to the dough hook. Knead on medium-low speed, adding more flour as necessary, until the dough is smooth and supple, about 6 minutes.

3.
Lightly butter a medium bowl. Shape the dough into a ball, place in the bowl, and rotate the dough to coat with butter. Cover with plastic wrap. Let stand in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in volume (if you poke a finger into the dough, the impression will remain for at least 5 seconds before filling in), about 1¼ hours.

4.
Punch down the dough. Turn out onto the work surface. Cut into 8 equal portions. Shape each portion into a ball. Butter a 9-inch-diameter cake pan. Place the balls in the pan, with 1 ball in the center and the others spaced evenly around it. Cover with the plastic wrap and let stand until almost doubled, about 45 minutes.

5.
Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350°F. Uncover the rolls and bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes. Brush the tops of the rolls with softened butter. Let stand in the pan for 5 minutes. Remove the rolls from the pan and serve hot.

NOTE:
If you are the kind of person who never bakes with yeast because you are afraid of taking the water’s temperature, take heart. Use quick-rising (bread machine or instant) yeast, and you won’t have to worry about the temperature, as this yeast works in cold water. Reduce the yeast to 2 teaspoons, and add it to 2 tablespoons cold (not warm) water.