Delta Cuisine for the Dearly Departed

Continued from page 1

Choose a recipe: The Ladies of St. James' Cheese Straws | Mason-Dixon Curried Chicken Salad | The Methodist Ladies' Chicken Lasagna Florentine | Poulet John Wesley | Methodist Party Potatoes | Vegetable Casserole | Mint and Almond Teas

Poulet John Wesley

Everyone loves fried chicken-it's

the

ecumenical dish. One of the reasons it's so good for funerals is that it can sit on the sideboard for hours and still be delicious.

Ingredients

1 chicken, cut up.a nice, medium-size yard bird

2 eggs

2 cups whole milk

2 cups flour salt black pepper

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

fat for frying (Crisco, vegetable oil, or a combination. Crisco is a nice way of saying "lard.")

Lightly beat the eggs and blend with the milk. Combine the flour, salt, pepper (a generous amount), and baking powder in a doubled brown grocery bag.shake to mix. Dip each piece of chicken in the egg/milk mixture. Shake chicken, one piece at a time, in the bag of flour until well coated (at this point, some cooks prefer the double-dip method where they repeat the egg-wash-and-flour procedure).

Using a preseasoned black-iron skillet, heat enough oil to almost cover the chicken. When you drop the chicken in, the fat sizzles! Frying is an art. The real art involves the grease, which must not burn but cook at an even, medium-hot level. Cooking time will vary according to the size of the piece of chicken. Approximately 20 minutes.

Serves three to four.

NOTE: Do not crowd the chicken when frying. Turn only once, when golden brown on one side. Remove pieces from the skillet and drain them on a brown grocery bag that has been covered with a layer of paper towels.soaks up extra grease better than anything!

Methodist Party Potatoes

Party Potatoes might sound a bit jolly for a funeral, but no self-respecting Delta Methodist is buried without them. Note to purists: If you refuse to cook with corn flakes, skip this recipe.

Ingredients

1 2-pound package hash browns

10 ounces grated sharp cheddar cheese

1/2 cup chopped onions

1 pint sour cream

1 can (10 3/4-ounces) cheddar cheese soup, not diluted

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons pepper, coarsely ground

Topping

2 cups corn flakes

1 stick butter

Preheat oven to 350°.

Prepare the hash browns according to the package directions. Combine the cooked hash browns with the other ingredients and place in a buttered 13 x 9-inch casserole dish. Top the casserole with corn flakes and dot with butter. Bake 40 minutes, or until golden, crisp, and bubbly. After you've eaten your fill, ask your doctor to add Lipitor.

Serves eight.

Vegetable Casserole

You can tell a Methodist recipe because it almost always has a step that reads, "Blend sour cream and cheese." This is standard at the church lunch. While it might sound awful to the uninitiated, it's the apotheosis of food to die for.

Ingredients

1 can (14 1/2-ounces) French-cut green beans

1 can (15 1/4-ounces) shoe-peg corn

1 can (8-ounces) sliced water chestnuts

salt

black pepper

1 can (10 3/4-ounces) cream of celery soup

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 cup minced onion

1/2 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese

1 stick Oleo

1 roll (35) Ritz crackers

1/2 cup slivered almonds

Preheat oven to 350°.

Drain the beans, corn, and water chestnuts. Mix in a greased 9 x 13inch pan (2 quarts). Add salt and lots of black pepper. Mix the soup, sour cream, onions, and cheese. Spread over bean and corn mixture.

Melt the Oleo and mix with crushed Ritz crackers. Spread over the top of the above mixture. Sprinkle the almonds on top. Bake for 45 minutes.

Serves eight.

NOTE: We use whole-wheat crackers-37 to a roll-and no-fat sour cream.

Mint and Almond Teas

Think of these teas as Methodist chardonnay. Methodists rarely drown their grief in anything stronger than flavored tea. Mint tea and almond tea are refreshing in the Delta summer and won't cause you to say things you regret later. The mint tea is a legacy of a long-gone local minister. (No doubt some rector of St. James' has passed down his favorite highball recipe.)

Almond Tea Ingredients

4 cups strongly brewed tea

3/4 cup water

1 can (60-ounce) frozen lemonade, thawed

1 cup sugar

2 teaspoons almond extract (a little goes a long way)

Combine all ingredients. Stir it until the sugar is dissolved, and serve over ice.

Makes about twelve cups.