Southern Traditions

Today's show is all about Southern traditions

And one of the most wonderful traditions that we have here in the South is rocking in a comfortable chair on the front porch

But I can't do that all day because I've got to get into the kitchen because I want to show y'all my recipe for making grits pie

I've got a friend coming in that's going to teach us how to braise a turkey shank

turkey shank, and then I'm going to finish up with a spicy black-eyed pea

So I hope you'll stay tuned, because today is all about Southern roots and Southern traditions

Oh, and we like our dogs, too. Hey, y'all

You know, it was hard for me to get out of my rocking chair. But there's one thing that will get me up from that chair

and that's to get in my kitchen and cook some of my southern favorites

A grits pie will get me out of the rocking chair. That's what I want to share with y'all today

You know grits plays a big, big part in the culinary world of a southerner

In fact, I would say that grits probably got a lot, a lot of people through the Depression

because grits is nothing but ground corn and it's very, very economical

you can serve a big bowl of grits to somebody for just a few pennies

And we have learned to do just about everything with that grit

In fact, we'll eat it breakfast, lunch, and dinner. And now we're going to eat it as a dessert

Okay, our water's boiling. Now I'm going to stir in a quarter of a cup of quick cooking grit

Now you never, ever, ever want to use an instant grit for this

and you don't want to use the long cooking grits. You want to use that quick cooking grits

that cooks in about four to five minutes. And you'll notice I'm going to stir this

the whole time it's cooking because I don't want our grits to lump up on us

I want our pie to be very, very smooth. Now I'm going to take them off the heat for a second

and I'm going to stir in into this small amount of grits, y'all

I'm gonna stir in a stick of butter. I'm sorry, it's just hard for me to talk about

some of this stuff with a straight face. I don't know. Y'all know how I feel about my butter

I just love it. And this is also gonna make it even creamier

So I'm gonna put this back on the heat. If you've never had a grits

you just don't know what you're missing, y'all. All right. Now I'm gonna bring that over here

and you can see how wonderful they look. They're creamy and they're smooth

and that's because I've stirred them the whole time. Now I've taken an ordinary frozen pie crust

from the freezer and I've let it thaw. Now I'm gonna make the custard part

that goes into our grits, and I'm using 3 4ths of a cup of sugar

two tablespoons of flour, and I'm going to stir those two dry ingredients together

That will help cut down on the lumping of this when I add my liquid

There we go. Now I'm going to add a teaspoon of vanilla. I'm going to add three beaten eggs

Just slightly beat them. You don't have to pull out the mixer or a whisk

And in they go, and those eggs are gonna give our pie

a custardy texture and flavor. And you can see how easy that's going together

because I incorporated that flour and sugar together real, real good so I have no lumps

Now I'm gonna pour in our liquid, which is a fourth of a cup of buttermilk

Now, because there's raw eggs in our custard, I want to temper the grits into the custard

I don't want to dump it all at one time because that could possibly scramble the eggs that

we have in it and we don want a scrambled egg in grits pie I just gonna take my buttermilk cup and slowly cool down those grits with the custard mixture

And you can see that has not scrambled our eggs up. Okay

I got those nice and tempered, so I'm adding all of that to our custard, and it's just that simple

I've got it all together. I'm going to just pour our custard now into a thawed, nine-inch, unbaked pie crust

All right, so in the oven it goes. I've got my oven set at 325 degrees

And I'm going to bake our pie for about 40 minutes. Really it depends on your oven

You'll want to be careful placing the pie in your oven because you don't want it to spill

off or get on your crust. You want all that custard to stay right in the center

Well, our pie's in the oven, and I've got a wonderful surprise for y'all

I've got a friend that's going to be joining me for the next segment, and you know what

This is the very first time on Paula's Home Cooking that a non-family member has ever appeared on the show with me

So y'all stay tuned. We got a wonderful, wonderful traditional dish coming up next, prepared by one of my favorite chefs

So I'll see y'all back here in the kitchen in a minute. You don't wanna miss this one

Hey, y'all, welcome back. When I left a few minutes ago, I promised you that I was gonna have a special guest

in the kitchen with me today. Now, I really wanted y'all to meet my friend, Chef Clayton

because he specializes in the use of African and Caribbean ingredients, and that is the basis of the kind of food that I cook

low-country cuisine. Chef and I met... In Birmingham. In Birmingham, Alabama. We were both invited to do a fundraiser for Hannah Holmes

Yes. Welcome, Chef. Thank you. I'm so glad you're here with me

And we're just going to walk down memory lane today. We're going to visit our heritage and the traditions that we do here in the South

So, Chef Clayton is going to teach us how to make braised turkey shanks

Why don't you tell everybody what braised means? Okay, braise is really when we saute the turkey shanks here in this braiser

And I'm browning these drumsticks in olive oil. And what we've done, ahead of time, we've fringed the turkey legs ahead of time

just by cutting here and just taking the skin off. That's mostly for cosmetics

And it looks real nice. And it's like, they make it look like shanks. I'm going to get a couple of slices of ginger

This is some fresh ginger. This is the best way to do ginger. Kind of like barnyard

Watch this. That's it. You are kidding me. Yes, I mean, that just..

It almost minced it with that... It just pulverizes it. And then we're going to finish it off with some peanuts also

Southwest Georgia peanuts. Ground nuts. That means it's in Africa. You know, anything that grows underground is protected from the insects

Ground nuts. Ground nuts. Not grinded up nuts, but ground nuts. Ground, underground

Is what you're saying. All right, and then I'll get this okra ready. Okay

And you're just kind of cutting that on the bias a little bit. Yeah, just cutting them on the bias. Just like you would for fried okra

Right, right. It's going in as the onion. Okay, so just kind of throw everything in

And that smoked sausage, you know that smoked sausage is really making it southern

Oh my goodness, we use this so much, chef, in low country balls and gumbo

anything that we want a powerful, smoky flavor in, this kind of sausage goes in our pot

We're adding eight ounces of sliced smoked sausage and one large onion diced

Oh, doesn't that look good? Oh, it looks fabulous. I'm gonna get that sausage around

so it'll get down in that oil. Okay. Yummy. In case you're not from Alabama

and you don't know what the Hannah Home operation is, it really a safe shelter for women that have been battered or are addicted to drugs and alcohol They move them into this wonderful home They just completing the building of this home

and it's just going to provide a safe, safe area for women and their children

It's taking in family units. It's a very, very good cause, and I'm so thankful for the opportunity

to have been a part of it because, like I said, I got to make a lot of new friends

but especially you, buddy. Oh, you're so sweet. Thank you. So now we'll add two tablespoons of minced ginger root

Ooh. And one cup of okra. Okay. I love that okra. I do, too

I like it. Any way I can get it, boiled, fried, casserole, gumboed

How about that? Now we have one cup of diced celery. Uh-huh

One cup of diced sweet potatoes. How do you like that? I thought that was carrots

Oh, man. I'll tell you, these are... Sweet potatoes in there. And then, of course..

Oh, I lost a tater. That's not like me to lose a tater, I'll tell you

Two tablespoons of minced garlic. Okay. Now, are you ready for some chicken stock

Yes, I'm ready for some stock. Okay. Okay, three cups of chicken stock

Oh, wow. That quietened them up there. I'm telling you. I think I'm going to turn our heat up a little bit

Okay. Now, once we get that turned up, and get it started, and then we turn it down to simmer

And we'll let that simmer for about 20 minutes. And then when we come back

we're going to add a couple of other items to this that's going to really make it not only Caribbean

but Southern. It's going to be very good. So y'all can't leave me

Hey, y'all. Welcome back. In case y'all have just tuned in, I'm here in my kitchen with Chef Clayton

Now, Chef, I just had to finish up. I had to get my bacon off because I'm getting ready for the next dish

But Chef Clayton is sharing a recipe with us called braised turkey shanks

Now, tell us the history on this. All right. We have about three different cultures involved here

We have West African, which is quite naturally these ground nuts that we have, peanuts, okay

And then we have the northern, which is like Ethiopia. We have some injera bread that we're going to use

This is like a community dish, a one-dish meal. And then, of course, we added one and a half cups of cooked collard greens

I mean, this is going to make it southern along with the smoked sausage

But we have these collard greens that we cook the traditional way with the ham hocks

as my daddy used to say, hammer hocks. Hammer hocks. Hammer hocks. And we cook it the traditional way with the ham hocks and onions and hot peppers and vinegar

and a touch of sugar. So we add all of this in, and we let this cook for about another 10, 15 minutes

Okay. And just let those flavors just marry. Okay. And then once we do that, and then we add one cup of toasted, unsalted peanuts

Believe it or not, it's best the next day. Oh, yeah. Once those flavors just marry

After the flavors marry. Yes. and it's very, very good the next day

Is it too early for me to... No, it's not too early

You know, I knew you were going to do that. Wait a minute, I have something for you, so in case, you know

you're always tasting people's food here. You use this. And not only can you taste this food

you can reach over and taste someone else. Everybody has always told me I have a boarding house reach

This is wonderful. Well, that's yours. I can... Thank you. I can steal everybody's food off of everybody's plate

and they'll never realize what I'm doing. That's right. Because I can quickly shut this back up and look totally innocent

How cute is this? I love it. But you know what? That won't hold that juice

No, it won't. But that show will nab a turkey leg. It will nab a turkey leg

You are too cute. Mmm. out of this world. Thank you, Paula

And now what are we going to do with that bread? Well, actually, the way they do this in Ethiopia

is they actually use the injera bread, and you use it as if it's a utensil

And it's a community kind of dish, and you just grab it like this and fold it up

and just pop it into your mouth. Now, it's a little too much for me to pop in my mouth right now

Oh, is it? Yeah. Okay, well, you know how to do it

We also put this in the bottom, the injera bread in the bottom of the bowl, and then

pour the stew over the top, and then after everyone finished eating, that bread that's

on the bottom has soaked up all of those fabulous flavors. Well, what would you recommend them using if they can't find or don't want to make this

injera bread? Believe it or not, just use some flour tortillas. That's just as easy

That would be great Just lay them in the frying pan and just heat them up Right and just put your stew in it It would be great But this is a community dish It brings the family back home

Just where I like them. Yes, everyone just sit around the table and talk

and that's the way they do in Ethiopia. Well, it is just out of this world

Thank you. And I'm definitely going to be making it. All right, thank you

Well, you know what? I could stand up here and eat that whole pot

but I got black-eyed peas to cook. Okay, well, go ahead. Come on down here and help me. Okay, that sounds great

I'm going to be making a spicy black-eyed pea today. Now, I have taken four slices of bacon

chopped them up, browned them off, because I'm really going to just garnish

our black-eyed peas with this bacon. And I'm going to add one diced onion

You know, we have to have onion in everything, don't we? Absolutely. So I'm just going to let those saute a couple of minutes

Chef, until they're kind of transparent. Okay. Now, I've got one pound of dried black-eyed peas

I'm going to just throw them in the pot just as they are

But if you're short on time, use the quick cooking method. Soak them overnight in water, drain them

and just go about your recipe just like you would. All right, Clayton, I'm just going to throw those dried black-eyed peas over in there

I'm just going to kind of toss them around in that grease. And now I'm going to add one can of diced tomatoes with green chilies

Oh, my gosh. Now that is what makes it, that and the chilies will make it spicy

And then I'm going to add a teaspoon of chili powder. Okay

So now we're going to add our liquid. I'm going to put about three cups of water

And let's add a little pepper. That looks good already. give it a little bit more spice. And then I'm going to add some salt. There we go. Now

I'm just going to cover this and let those simmer for about 45 minutes to an hour. And

I'm going to keep checking this pot because there again, they're dried and they're going

to be doing a lot of drinking down there in that pot. So why don't we take a quick break

And when we come back, I'm going to be showing y'all how to fry plantains

Oh, yes. Talking about that Caribbean food. Yes. So I'll see y'all back here in the kitchen in a minute

I'm having a ball with Chef Clayton. And hope y'all are enjoying it, too

You've got to try this dish. I told y'all that Chef Clayton had taught me how to fry plantains his way

Well, we'll take these and just cut them at an angle like so

And all we have to do is just drop these suckers in some hot oil. Now, I see that you've gotten something over there to eat along with them on the tray

This is a mango salsa. Serve this on top of each one of these plantains

All right, well, let's try them. Yes. Hope I don't ruin my mouth

Mmm. There's a lot of flavors there. So many flavors. You got your kind of sweet plantain

You got the bite of the jalapeno, which I love, and that strong flavor of cilantro

Not to mention the red peppers and the onions. That is very good

Thank you, Clayton. These are great. I hope y'all enjoy them. I hope that you've had a good time with Chef Clayton and me today

because we've certainly had a ball talking about our southern roots and our traditions and cooking up all these dishes

But you know what? What? We never tasted those black-eyed peas. No, we didn't

You know, and that's, as far as I'm concerned, that's a sin. Mmm

Oh, that's good. They're so good. And you know what? I couldn't believe

You and I are so much alike in a lot of ways, and you've never had a grit pie

Never had a grit pie. Well, honey, dig in. All right. I'm back at home in Birmingham

This is so good. Excellent. You know, we've made some fabulous food today

I love the fried plantains, the spicy black-eyed peas, this grits pie

Oh, and my goodness, Clayton, your braised turkey shanks. Weren't those delicious

Well, it's over the top. Thank you. Our time is up. Oh, my goodness

So you want to help me sign off? Yes. And as always, y'all, Chef Clayton and I send y'all love and best dishes from our kitchen to yours

Thank you, Chef. You're great. You're great. Thank you