The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Down-home deliciousness
6 recipes that celebrate soul food
The historian and scholar John Hope Franklin used to tell the story about the end of segregation in the South.
Blacks in his town were excited by the prospect: At last they would get to see what the white folks ate. But their first trips to previously all-white restaurants quickly turned to disappointment.
The historian and scholar John Hope Franklin used to tell the story about the end of segregation in the South.
Blacks in his town were excited by the prospect: At last they would get to see what the white folks ate. But their first trips to previously all-white restaurants quickly turned to disappointment.
Southern whites were eating ham hocks, cornbread and collard greens. They were eating the same things we were, he would say.
The Black version of the food, of course, came to be known as soul food. And like other folk cuisines, in recent years it has split in two directions.
Most soul food is still the oldfashioned, down-home food that has been feeding families for generations. But there also has been a surge in upscale, gentrified soul food — soul food with a modern touch. We’re talking collard greens pesto, charred okra and blueberry-sweet-teabrined chicken thighs.
Give me the down-home soul food any day. You know, the soul food with soul.
Fried catfish
Oil for frying
1 cup buttermilk or milk
4 catfish fillets
3⁄4 cup fine cornmeal (not coarsely
ground)
1⁄2 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon garlic powder 1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon paprika
1⁄2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1⁄4 teaspoon celery seed
Salt
Hot sauce, optional
If cooking more than 2 fillets, place a wire rack on a rimmed baking sheet and preheat oven to 200 degrees.
In a heavy frying pan, preferably cast iron, pour in enough oil to come 1⁄2 inch up the sides of the pan. Heat on medium-high.
Pour buttermilk or milk into an elongated dish or bowl. Put catfish in dish to soak.
Mix together the cornmeal, flour, garlic powder, pepper, paprika, cayenne and celery seed, and place in a shallow dish for dredging.
Allow the oil to reach 350 degrees (if you do not have a cooking thermometer, flick a little of the dredging mixture into the oil. If it sizzles immediately, the oil is ready.)
Season the catfish with salt and dredge 1 fillet in the cornmeal mixture. Shake off the excess and gently lay the fish in the oil. Fry until golden brown, about 2 to 4 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fillet. Use a metal spatula to gently turn the fish over and fry on the other side for another 2 to 4 minutes.
Remove to a platter if cooking 1 or 2 fillets, or to the rack-covered baking sheet if cooking more than two. Place the baking sheet in the oven to keep cooked fish warm and crispy while cooking the rest of the fish.
Repeat with the rest of the fillets. Keep an eye on the oil temperature; cast iron retains heat, so you may have to lower the heat on the burner. The oil should be kept around 350 degrees.
Serve with hot sauce, if desired.
Slightly adapted from simplyrecipes.com
Note: If you cannot find ham hocks, use another piece of smoked pork or smoked turkey.
Place the greens in a clean sink and rinse them thoroughly to remove all grit, sand and debris. Rinse under cold water until the water runs clear.
Pull and tear greens away from tough stems. Roll up a handful of greens and cut the roll crosswise into small pieces.
Rinse the ham hock and add to a large pot with enough water to fully submerge it. Cover and cook over medium heat for 45 minutes until the meat is nearly tender.
Add the greens and enough water to barely cover them. Add the sugar, bacon grease, seasoned salt, Worcestershire sauce, vinegar, red pepper, garlic powder, paprika and onion.
Cook at a low simmer until completely tender, at least 2 hours. There should always be enough liquid to cover the greens; if the liquid evaporates below the top of the greens, add more water and cover for the rest of the cooking.
When you are done cooking, you can save and refrigerate the liquid — called pot likker — and use to make soups, stews, gravy or to cook dried beans.
Slightly adapted from grandbaby-cakes.com
Smothered pork chops
4 bone-in pork chops
11⁄2 teaspoons onion powder
11⁄2 teaspoons garlic powder
1⁄2 teaspoon cayenne pepper 1 teaspoon seasoning salt
1⁄2 teaspoon fresh cracked black
pepper
2 teaspoons plus 2 tablespoons
olive oil, divided
1⁄2 cup all-purpose flour 2 tablespoons unsalted butter 1 large onion, thinly sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon fresh chopped thyme,
or 1⁄4 teaspoon dried thyme
1⁄2 cup chicken broth
3⁄4 cup buttermilk or heavy cream Chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, for
garnish
Pat the pork chops dry with paper towels to remove any moisture. Season with onion powder, garlic powder, cayenne, seasoning salt, pepper and 2 teaspoons of the olive oil.
Dredge each chop in the flour; shake off the excess and keep the remaining flour.
Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil and 2 tablespoons of the butter in a skillet or pan over medium heat. When hot, fry the pork chops in a single layer on each side until golden brown, about 3 to 4 minutes per side (if using boneless pork chops, cook 2 minutes per side). Remove from the pan and keep warm.
Pour out all but 1 tablespoon of the fat in the pan and heat over medium heat. Add sliced onions and a pinch of salt. Cook
while stirring occasionally, until soft and caramelized, about 10 minutes. (Add 1 tablespoon of the chicken broth if the pan becomes too dry.)
Add the garlic and thyme; cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add 2 tablespoons of the remaining flour to the pan. Mix the flour into the onions and cook to dissolve, about 2 minutes.
Pour in the chicken broth, scraping up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Let the liquid reduce and thicken slightly, about 2 minutes. Whisk in the buttermilk or cream and simmer for 1 to 2 minutes until thick and creamy.
Return the pork chops to the pan. Coat them in the sauce and let simmer until the pork is completely cooked through, about 5 minutes. The sauce will continue to thicken as it cooks; if it becomes too thick, add a little cream or broth to thin it out to your desired consistency.
Taste and season with salt and pepper, if needed. Garnish with the chopped parsley before serving. Serve warm.
Slightly adapted from a recipe from cafedelites.com
Easy buttermilk cornbread
11⁄4 cups all-purpose flour 3⁄4 cup cornmeal
1⁄4 cup granulated sugar 2 teaspoons baking powder 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk
1⁄4 cup honey
1⁄4 cup vegetable oil (preferably
corn oil)
1 egg, beaten
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease an 8- or 9-inch pan or cast-iron skillet. In a medium bowl, combine flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder and salt. Stir in buttermilk, honey, oil and egg, mixing just until dry ingredients are moistened (do not overmix).
Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until light golden brown and wooden toothpick inserted in center comes out clean (an 8-inch skillet will take 25 to 30 minutes). Serve warm.
Adapted from a recipe by Quaker Oats
Sweetie Pie’s macaroni and cheese
8 to 10 ounces elbow macaroni
1⁄2 cup whole milk
1 (12-ounce) can evaporated milk 2 eggs, lightly beaten
11⁄2 teaspoons ground white pepper 11⁄2 teaspoons granulated sugar 8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, cut
into small pieces
1⁄2 pound Velveeta, cut into small
chunks
8 ounces Colby-Jack cheese (or 4 ounces Colby and 4 ounces Monterey Jack), shredded 4 ounces sharp cheddar cheese,
shredded
1 cup shredded American or mild
cheddar cheese
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil; cook pasta according to package directions, just until al dente. (Do not overcook.) Drain well; place in a 9-by-13-inch baking pan.
In the pasta pot, combine whole milk, evaporated milk and eggs; whisk in salt to taste, pepper and sugar, mixing until thoroughly combined. Pour milk mixture over macaroni.
Add butter, Velveeta, ColbyJack and sharp cheddar cheeses. Stir well. Sprinkle the top with American or mild cheddar cheese.
Bake 30 to 40 minutes or until top is lightly browned.
Recipe from Sweetie Pie’s restaurants adapted for home kitchens by the Post-Dispatch.
Season the oxtails with the salt and pepper. Drizzle with Worcestershire sauce and toss until coated. Sprinkle with 1⁄4 cup of the flour and toss to coat.
Heat the oil in a large pan, preferably nonstick, over medium heat. Place the oxtails in a single layer with plenty of space between them (you will have to do this in batches) and brown on both sides. Remove to a slow cooker. If you are not using a slow cooker, place in a Dutch oven.
If there are burnt pieces in the pan, strain out the oil, clean the pan and return the strained oil to the pan.
Whisking constantly, add the remaining 1 cup of flour to the pan a little bit at a time. When the flour is about the color and texture of peanut butter, slowly add the broth or water, still whisking all the time. Whisk until the mixture is smooth with no lumps.
Raise the temperature to high and bring the gravy to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and add the onions and garlic.
Add the gravy to the slow cooker or Dutch oven. If using a slow cooker, cook on high temperature for 4 hours or low temperature for 6 hours. If using a Dutch oven, cover and cook at a very slow simmer for 3 to 4 hours, stirring once an hour. The oxtails are done when they are fork tender and nearly falling off the bone.
Serve with rice or mashed potatoes.
Starting March 19, Connecticut churches, mosques, temples and other house of worship will no longer be required to cap the number of people who attend in-person services.
But because houses of worship will still need to abide by social distancing requirements, some faith leaders suggested lifting the capacity limit won’t have an immediate impact, while one expert warned congregations will need to be cautious about letting their guard down in a communal gathering.
Brian Wallace, a spokesman for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Bridgeport, said the elimination of the cap on houses of worship probably won’t affect many of the smaller churches, because the space needed for social distancing means many are already close to capacity.
Lifting the cap will likely benefit some of the state’s larger Catholic churches with higher indoor occupancy, Wallace said, including St. Charles Borromeo Church in Bridgeport and St. Theresa Church in Trumbull — which at a 1,200-person occupancy is the largest church in the Diocese.
Announcing the decision at his twice-weekly pandemic briefing on Thursday, Gov. Ned Lamont said masks and social distancing will still be required.
“And by the way, I’ve been to a few houses of worship in my day where more people are my age than your age, a little older — a lot more likely to have gotten vaccinated” said Lamont, 67. “I think we can do this in the houses of worship safely, provided you wear the mask and the distancing.”
But the real risk of allowing more people to attend religious services in-person may not be the service itself, so much as the coffee and cookie hour that follows.
“I am concerned about the culture — about the communing,” said Sten Vermund, dean of the Yale School of Public Health. “The tradition in many churches is people go to the nearby hall or basement, or wherever they have their cookies or coffee and talk.”
Such informal gatherings are a place where people “can let their guard down,” surrounded by people they may not have seen for several months, Vermund said. He used the analogy of attending a sporting event — while the stands themselves may not be a source of spread, gathering or getting dinner afterward could be.
The lifted restriction coincides with several major springs holidays — Passover, which starts
March 27 and ends April 4; Easter Sunday on April 4, and the start of Ramadan on April 12.
“I think just like any of these reopenings there’s a balance,” said Dr. David Banach, head of infection prevention at UConn Health. He noted there is a real need for communities to hold religious gatherings, but those who attend should continue to be mindful of social distancing and wearing masks.
Both Vermund and Banach said it may be prudent for houses of worship to avoid singing or shouting, which studies have shown can project droplets from a potentially infected person much farther than talking.
Rabbi David Reiner of Congregation Shir Sholom in Ridgefield said even with the expanded limits on capacity, most services in-person have remained small. With funerals, families have asked for small gatherings. The last holiday that drew a significant number of worshippers were the Jewish high holy days in the fall, during which the age of attendees ranged from infants to those in their 90s, Reiner said.
The decision to lift the cap comes as Connecticut’s positivity rate and hospitalizations for COVID-19 have been trending downward for several weeks.
The state’s daily COVID-19 numbers released Thursday and Friday both showed one-day positivity rates below 2 percent, the lowest it has been for several weeks. And the statewide census of patients hospitalized for the illness fell to 428 on Friday, the lowest it’s been since the first week of November.
Eman Beshtawii, president of the Al Hedaya Islamic Center in Newtown, said she believes lifting the cap will gradually increase turnout of the center’s programs leading up to Ramadan, in mid-April. Some of those programs will continue to be held outdoors, including the center’s Eid al-Fitr gathering in mid-May, which marks the end of Ramadan.
“Based on the advice of medical doctors in our community who have been actively serving COVID cases at local hospitals and urgent care clinics, we plan to move very cautiously while following social distancing and use of masks,” Beshtawii said.