Cool Sweets for Hot Days

Watermelon Sherbet

8 cups chopped watermelon (about 3 lb.)

1 cup half-and-half

3⁄4 cup sugar

Garnish: mint sprigs

1. Process watermelon in a blender until pureed, stopping to scrape down

sides as needed. Transfer 41⁄2 cups puree to a large bowl. Reserve any

remaining watermelon puree for another use. (Or grab a straw for a cook’s

treat.) Whisk in half-and-half and sugar.

2. Pour mixture into freezer container of a 11⁄2-qt. electric ice-cream maker, and freeze according to manufacturer’s instructions. Transfer to an airtight container, and freeze 4 to 5 hours. Let stand at room temperature 5 to 10 minutes before serving. Garnish, if desired.

Makes: 11⁄2 qt.

Hands-on Time: 20 min. Total Time: 5 hr.

Note: The total time for this recipe may vary, depending on your ice-cream maker.

Raspberry-Lime Frozen Pops

1⁄2 cup sugar

6 cups fresh raspberries

1⁄4 cup fresh lime juice (about 3 limes)

1⁄4 tsp. vanilla extract

Garnish: fresh raspberries

1. Heat sugar and 1⁄2 cup water in a small saucepan over medium heat until

sugar dissolves (about 3 minutes). Cool slightly (about 5 minutes).

2. Puree sugar syrup, raspberries, and next 2 ingredients in a blender until

smooth, stopping to scrape down sides as needed.

3. Pour mixture into 10 (4-oz.) plastic pop molds (about 1⁄3 cup mixture in

each). Top with lids of pop molds, and insert craft sticks, leaving 11⁄2 to 2

inches of each sticking out. Freeze 6 hours or until sticks are solidly anchored

and pops are completely frozen. Garnish, if desired.

Makes: 10 servings

Hands-on Time: 10 min. Total Time: 6 hr., 10 min.

Slicing a watermelon with ease

I'm always amazed at tools that make things in the kitchen much easier than before. The Grommet recently sent me i Genietti Watermelon Slicer and Server to try. I've been a believer that slicing watermelon is best done outside since juice tends to run in every direction possible. I can now slice and serve watermelon in the luxury of air conditioning! 

Recipes and recipe photo from Around the Southern Table by Rebecca Lang (c) 2012 Oxmoor House and Rebecca Lang Cooks, LLC. 

Green Up and Pray for Spring!

This winter has been a long and cold one, no matter where you live. Thank goodness it's almost over. With spring right around the corner, take a fresh look at salads to welcome in the new warmer weather. Salads don't have to be on a leafy base. They can be filled with vegetables and bursting with a light and refreshing zing. Finding fresh English peas can be tricky, so I use frozen peas for this recipe. Try it for the first picnic of the season.


English Pea and Radish Salad

1 (16-oz.) package frozen petite green peas
1 cup very thinly sliced radishes
2 green onions, sliced (1⁄4 cup)
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh mint, plus a few sprigs for garnish
2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1 Tbsp. white wine vinegar
3⁄4 tsp. salt
1⁄4 tsp. freshly ground pepper

1. Fill a large bowl halfway with water and ice. Bring a medium saucepan filled with water to a boil. Add frozen peas, and cook 1 minute; drain. Plunge into ice water to stop the cooking process; drain. Combine peas and next 3 ingredients in a bowl.

2. Whisk together olive oil and next 4 ingredients until well blended. Pour over peas; toss to coat. Let stand 15 minutes before serving. Garnish, if desired.

Makes: 8 servings

Hands-on Time: 10 min. Total Time: 30 min.

Recipe from Southern Living Around the Southern Table by Rebecca Lang (Oxmoor House, 2012)
(c) 2014 Rebecca Lang Cooks, LLC

A Funeral, a Pound Cake, and a Lesson on Manners

Photo by Jennifer Davick

To the man that was driving behind me on highway 316 headed out of Atlanta last week, I know you are not from here. There’s no way you are Southern and you acted the way you did. Your behavior is absolutely unacceptable.

I could spend all day writing about things in the South that we do better than anywhere else in the world. But if there’s one thing we can do with the utmost of manners and grace, it’s a funeral. As I drove out of the city several days ago, I heard sirens as I neared a red light. All the cars around me collectively slowed to see where the sound was coming from. With a glance in the review mirror, I saw blue flashing lights and the parting of traffic as if God himself had separated the sea. Behind the pulsing sapphire glow was a hearse.

I was in one of two lanes filled with cars headed home and we split. I pulled off the road to create an open area down the middle line for the funeral procession to squeeze through. Every car but one was doing the same. The car behind me never moved. It sat squarely in the middle of the lane. The procession had to inch around the rude driver. The blue lights passed, then the hearse, then a series of black town cars. I could then see a long stream of cars with headlights shining in the light of day to pay respects to someone who was no longer here.

I sat, just as everyone else did, waiting to see a car that no longer had headlights glaring. After only the third card following the hearse, the person behind me blew the horn and never let off. As the mourners passed, the horn continued to sound. The entire road sat still. Someone's life is over and their family and friends are grieving. Shouldn't we all be able to stop and wait a few minutes? There was no way my car and my manners were moving until the lights were no longer shining.

I’ve been in the procession of my fair share of funerals and there’s nothing quite like riding in a cloud of shock and grief and seeing absolute strangers pull to the side of the road as you pass by. It’s respectful and thoughtful.

As far as the man driving the car behind me, bless his heart. Maybe he was from far away and had no idea what was happening. A hearse is hard to recognize, right?

A sweet recipe is obviously in order. Again, bless his heart.

Pound Cake from Heaven

Perfect for a funeral or any other time. Pound cake makes all things better.

11⁄2 cups unsalted butter, softened
3 cups sugar
5 large eggs
3 cups all-purpose soft-wheat flour (such as White Lily)
1 tsp. baking powder
1⁄4 tsp. salt
1 (5-oz.) can evaporated milk
2⁄3 cup heavy cream
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
Garnishes: sweetened whipped cream, fresh strawberries

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Place butter in the bowl of a heavy-duty electric stand mixer, and beat at medium speed until light and fluffy (about 6 minutes). Gradually add sugar, beating until blended. Beat 1 minute more. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating just until yellow disappears after each addition.

2. Combine flour and next 2 ingredients. Combine evaporated milk and cream; add to butter mixture alternately with flour mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat at low speed just until blended after each addition, stopping to scrape bowl as needed. Stir in vanilla. Pour batter into a greased and floured 10-inch (16-cup) tube pan.

3. Bake at 350° for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until a long wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack 1 hour; remove from pan to wire rack, and cool completely (about 1 hour). Garnish, if desired.

Makes: 12 servings

Hands-on Time: 15 min. Total Time: 3 hr., 30 min.

Recipe from Around the Southern Table by Rebecca Lang
(Oxmoor House, 2012)

Copyright 2013 Rebecca Lang Cooks, LLC. All rights reserved.

Lemon Icebox Pie Squares

Photo by Jennifer Davick

Spring is coming and a chilly dessert is the only real way to welcome warm weather and sunny afternoons. Open the screen door, enjoy the flowers, and think out of the box for these lemon squares. They're cold, creamy, and ultimately pucker-worthy. The crust is thick and delightfully perfect. I love graham cracker crusts to the point that I've woken up at night thinking about the crunchy sweet layer. (I also have issues with getting it all out of the bowl and pressed into the pan without having a good snack.)

I made this recipe with Meyer lemons this week. If you can find them, try it. You'll be speechless. Use the same quantity of juice and zest as regular lemons.

This recipe and over 150 more are found in my newest book, Around the Southern Table. 

Lemon Icebox Pie Squares

18 graham cracker sheets
1⁄2 cup unsalted butter, melted
1⁄3 cup sugar
7 egg yolks
2 (14-oz.) cans sweetened condensed milk
1 Tbsp. lemon zest
1 cup fresh lemon juice (about 6 lemons)
1⁄2 tsp. vanilla extract
Sweetened whipped cream (optional)
Garnish: fresh mint sprigs

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Pulse graham cracker sheets in a food processor 3 to 4 times or until crackers resemble coarse sand. Add butter and sugar. Pulse until crumbs are moist.

2. Line an 11- x 7-inch baking dish with aluminum foil, allowing 2 to 3 inches to extend over sides. Lightly grease foil. Press cracker crumb mixture firmly on bottom of dish.

3. Whisk egg yolks until blended. Whisk in sweetened condensed milk and next 3 ingredients. Pour over crust.

4. Bake at 350° for 15 minutes or until slightly set. Cool completely on a wire rack (about 1 hour).

5. Cover with plastic wrap; freeze 8 to 24 hours. Lift pie from dish, using foil sides as handles. Remove foil; place pie on a cutting board. Let stand at room temperature 15 minutes; cut into squares. Serve with whipped cream, if desired. Garnish, if desired.

Makes: 8 to 10 servings

Hands-on Time: 15 min. Total Time: 9 hr., 45 min.

Recipe adapted from Around the Southern Table by Rebecca Lang


Copyright © 2013 Rebecca Lang Cooks, LLC. All rights reserved.

Bacon Covered Roasted Turkey

There’s nothing more frightening than cutting into the Thanksgiving turkey and finding dry, unappealing meat. The air of silence falls over the table as everyone saws through slices of the main course as if it were pressure treated lumber. It’s awkward for anyone eating and nothing short of heartbreaking for the cook.

There is an essential combination that fights off dryness and turns an average turkey into the star of a meal that will be remembered for countless holidays. Brining, boosting flavor with an herbed butter, and taking advantage of the miraculous properties of bacon are the keys to true Thanksgiving turkey glory.

Bacon-Covered Roasted Turkey

Choose a fresh turkey—and read the label to make sure it hasn’t been injected with a saline or flavor solution—to ensure a juicy and perfectly seasoned holiday centerpiece.

2 cups medium-flake kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal)

2 cups firmly packed light brown sugar

3 Tbsp. black peppercorns

1 Tbsp. mustard seeds

1 (12-lb.) whole fresh turkey

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

2 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley

1 Tbsp. chopped fresh sage

1⁄2 tsp. table salt

1⁄2 tsp. freshly ground pepper

Kitchen string

6 bacon slices (not thick cut)

Garnishes: roasted carrots, fresh bay leaves

1. Combine first 4 ingredients and 2 qt. water in a saucepan, and cook over

medium heat 5 minutes or until salt and sugar are dissolved. Remove from heat.

Divide liquid between 2 large (10- to 12-cup) bowls; add 4 cups ice cubes to

each bowl and enough cold water to make 10 cups of brine in each bowl. Stir

until ice melts and both mixtures are completely cool (about 5 minutes).

2. Remove giblets and neck from turkey, and reserve for another use, if

desired. Place turkey in an 18-qt. food-grade plastic container or stockpot.

Pour brine into cavity and over turkey, covering turkey completely. Place in

refrigerator. Cover and chill 24 hours, turning turkey once halfway through.

3. Combine butter and next 4 ingredients in a small bowl.

4. Preheat oven to 350°. Remove turkey from brine, discarding brine. Rinse

turkey well, including cavity.

5. Starting at neck, carefully loosen and lift skin from breast and drumsticks

using your fingers. (Do not totally detach skin.) Rub 3⁄4 cup butter mixture

under skin; carefully replace skin. Tie ends of legs together with string; tuck

wing tips under. Place turkey, breast side up, on a lightly greased rack in a

roasting pan; rub remaining butter mixture over skin.

6. Roast turkey at 350° for 1 hour and 45 minutes, basting with pan juices

every 20 minutes during last 45 minutes of cooking. Remove from oven, and

lay bacon slices, crosswise, over breast and drumsticks.

7. Return turkey to oven; roast 45 minutes to 1 hour or until a meat thermometer

inserted in thickest portion of thigh registers 170°, basting every 15 minutes.

Let stand 30 minutes before carving. Garnish, if desired.

Makes: 8 servings

Hands-on Time: 50 min. Total Time: 4 hr., plus 1 day for brining

(c) Copyright 2012 Rebecca Lang Cooks, LLC

Recipe from Southern Living Around the Southern Table by Rebecca Lang, Oxmoor House, 2012 

Photo by Jennifer Davick

My Southern Table

 

I am overwhelmed by the warm welcome that my new book has gotten onto bookstore shelves, coffee tables and kitchen counters all over the South. This journey is off to an unforgettable start. 

The exact essay below didn't make it into the final edits of Around the Southern Table. Yet, it is important to me to share some personal moments of my relationship with the table. I'm sure most Southerners could do the same.

My Southern Table

Being welcomed at the table is nothing short of receiving a special gift. It’s a package filled with soothing assurance that you are not alone. It is not simply a piece of furniture made to support a plate and a glass; it is furniture that serves its owners in countless and amazing ways.

    Like so many others, my home is not determined by an address; my home is where those I love gather around the table. The location and the table aren’t always the same, but those that surround it are always family. In times of great celebration, quite reflection or deep loss, the table is forever in the center.

    Much of my life has been marked by unforgettable moments around the table. It was at the table where I tasted my very first tomato sandwich. I ate breakfast at the table while watching the Challenger liftoff and disintegrate into the sky. Years later I slipped my left hand across the shiny oak top to show my grandmother my engagement ring. In that exact same place at the table, my place, I was overcome by the sea of endless food delivered when she passed away. We gathered our parents around the table on a frigid January evening to share the news that their first grandbaby was on the way.

    While sitting down to a bushel of roasted oysters, I was ecstatic to tell my family I was writing my long-awaited third book. I swaddled our brand new baby girl in a bright pink basket on our table the first day we came home from the hospital. We added leaves and pulled up chairs for the biggest brunch I could cook after each of our children was baptized.  Hours after the death of my father-in-law, I sat alone at our table in the middle of the night and cried until no more tears would come. While sitting on his tiny knees at the table, my son said the blessing all by himself for the first time.

    It is at the table where I have grown-up, loved, laughed, prayed, celebrated and experienced so many of the defining moments in my life. This long relationship does not make me unique. Most Southerners could tell a very similar story about the table where they sit to dine each day. The Southern table does not just fill a room or a corner; it fills our very lives and enriches our souls.

Copyright © 2012 Rebecca Lang Cooks, LLC. All rights reserved.

www.rebeccalangcooks.com