Edna Lewis Recipes

EDNA LEWIS'S BISCUITS

Steps:

• Take a large bowl, sift into it the measured flour, salt, soda and baking powder. Add the lard, and blend together with a pastry blender or your fingertips until the mixture has the texture of cornmeal.
• Add the milk all at once by scattering it over the dough. Stir vigorously with a stout wooden spoon. The dough will be very soft in the beginning but will stiffen in 2 or 3 minutes. Continue to stir a few minutes longer.
• After the dough has stiffened, scrape from sides of bowl into a ball, and spoon onto a lightly floured surface for rolling. Dust over lightly with about a tablespoon of flour as the dough will be a bit sticky. Flatten the dough out gently with your hands into a thick, round cake, and knead for a minute by folding the outer edge of the dough into the center of the circle, giving a light knead as you fold the sides in overlapping each other.
• Turn the folded side face down and dust lightly if needed, being careful not to use too much flour and cause the dough to become too stiff. Dust the rolling pin and the rolling surface well. Roll the dough out evenly to a 1/2-inch thickness or a bit less. Pierce the surface of the dough with a table fork. (It was said piercing the dough released the air while baking.)
• Dust the biscuit cutter in flour first; this will prevent the dough sticking to the cutter and ruining the shape of the biscuit. Dust the cutter as often as needed. An added feature to your light, tender biscuits will be their straight sides. This can be achieved by not wiggling the cutter. Press the cutter into the dough and lift up with a sharp quickness without a wiggle. Cut the biscuits very close together to avoid having big pieces of dough left in between each biscuit. Trying to piece together and rerolling leftover dough will change the texture of the biscuits.
• Place the biscuits 1/2 inch or more apart on a heavy cookie sheet or baking pan, preferably one with a bright surface. The biscuits brown more beautifully on a bright, shining pan than on a dull one, and a thick bottom helps to keep them from browning too much on the bottom. Set to bake in a preheated 450-degree oven for 13 minutes. Remove from the oven, and let them rest for 3 to 4 minutes. Serve hot.

SOUTHERN PAN-FRIED CHICKEN

Steps:

• The night before serving: Place chicken in a large bowl and set aside. In a large pitcher, combine kosher salt with 6 cups of water and stir until the salt has dissolved. Pour salted water over chicken pieces until they are submerged. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
• In the morning, drain chicken pieces and rinse chicken and bowl. Return chicken to bowl and cover with buttermilk. Cover and refrigerate for 8 to 12 hours.
• About 1¼ hours before serving, combine the lard, butter and ham in a large heavy skillet. Cook over low heat, skimming as needed, until ham is lightly browned, 30 to 45 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove ham and brown bits from fat. Increase heat to medium high to heat the fat to 335 degrees.
• In a shallow bowl combine flour, cornstarch, salt and pepper; mix well. Dredge chicken pieces thoroughly in flour mixture, then pat well to remove excess flour. Working in batches (do not crowd pan), place chicken pieces skin side down in fat. Cook 8 to 10 minutes on each side, until chicken is golden brown and cooked through. Drain on crumpled paper towels. Serve hot, warm, at room temperature or cold.

BUTTERMILK COOKIES

Steps:

• Make cookies:
• Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle. Butter 2 large baking sheets.
• Whisk together flour, zest, baking soda, and salt.
• Beat together butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition, then beat in vanilla. Mix in flour mixture and buttermilk alternately in batches at low speed, beginning and ending with flour mixture, until smooth.
• Drop level tablespoons of dough about 1 1/2 inches apart onto baking sheets. Bake, 1 sheet at a time, until cookies are puffed and edges are golden, 12 to 15 minutes per batch. Cool cookies on sheets 1 minute, then transfer cookies to racks.
• Glaze cookies:
• Whisk together all glaze ingredients and brush onto tops of warm cookies.
• Let stand until cookies are completely cooled and glaze is set.

DARK MOLASSES GINGERBREAD WITH WHIPPED CREAM

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour an 8-by-8-by-2-inch baking pan. Sift flour, baking soda and baking powder into a large mixing bowl. Blend in spices and salt with a wire whisk.
• In a small pan, bring 1 cup water to a boil. Melt 1/2 cup butter in it, then whisk water into flour mixture. Beat eggs and add to mixture, along with molasses. Whisk until well blended. Pour into pan.
• Bake for 35 to 45 minutes or until a skewer plunged into center comes out with no trace of raw batter. Interior will be moist. Serve warm with freshly whipped cream.

EDNA LEWIS'S PEACH COBBLER

Steps:

• Make the pastry: Set aside a small bowl of ice water. On a work surface, mound flour, salt and sugar, and mix to blend. Top with frozen butter and lard or shortening, and use a pastry cutter or your fingers to mix until it resembles coarse meal; some large pieces of the fats should still be visible.
• Quickly form a mound and, with your finger, draw a trench down the center. Sprinkle trench with 1 tablespoon ice water and fluff flour so it absorbs the water. Repeat three times, drawing trenches and sprinkling each with 1 tablespoon ice water, so 4 tablespoons of water have been incorporated. The dough should be starting to clump in large pieces. If necessary, add water by droplets until dough begins to form a mass.
• Gather dough with a pastry scraper. Working quickly, use the heel of your hand to smear an egg-size piece of dough by pushing it away from you. Continue with remaining dough (about 6 smears total), then gather dough again and repeat the process. Shape into 2 flat disks, and cover each in a double-thickness of plastic wrap, pressing wrapped disks to further shape and bind them. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight.
• Roll out one chilled disk to 1/8-inch thickness, large enough to line and slightly overhang an 8-inch-square 2-inch-deep baking dish, or other shallow 2-quart pan. Trim to leave 1/2 inch of pastry above rim, refrigerating both pan and trimmings. Roll out remaining dough to about 1/8-inch thickness, to cover top of cobbler, again trimming and refrigerating excess dough. Slide top crust onto a plate, and refrigerate.
• Make the filling: Heat oven to 425 degrees. In a mixing bowl, toss together peaches, sugar, flour, salt and nutmeg. Place mixture in the crust-lined baking dish, and tuck chilled trimmings into the center and sides of the filling, scattering them throughout. Top with butter slices. Moisten rim of dough with water and slide flat pastry crust on top. Press edges of dough to seal, and cut a few 1-inch slits in top crust. If desired, sprinkle with sugar.
• Bake for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 375 degrees, and continue to bake until crust is deep golden brown and filling begins to bubble through slits, 30 to 40 more minutes. Cool cobbler on a rack until warm. If desired, serve with lightly sweetened whipped cream or ice cream.