Book Club recipe collection submission

Recipes for Book Club
November 2007, Hosted by Cat

It was a Southern meal inspired by the Southern setting of Carson McCullers' The Heart is a Lonely Hunter. "Supper", as we Southerners call it, included:

Black Eyed Peas*
Uncle Ben's Long Grain Converted Rice (the brand is specific, it's what we always used growing up in Georgia)*
Collard Greens*
Homemade Mac n' Cheese*
Potato Rolls - store bought Martin's
a big green greek salad from Mona Lisa Pasta (the only non-Southern part of the meal)
Two kinds of Breyers ice cream - Peach and Butter Pecan, classic Southern flavors


* Notes and recipes:
Black Eyed Peas
For a true Southern experience, it's best to start with dried black eyed peas, which is what I did for our supper. Using dried beans of any kind is time intensive, but it's a very low maintenance affair. Follow the package directions, being sure to sort and rinse the peas well. You can either soak the peas overnight, or if you have at least two hours of prep time, you can use the Quick Cook method (bring to a boil for 1-2 minutes and then let soak off the heat for 1 hour before simmering for 20-30 minutes) for same day preparation. True Southerners will flavor black eyed peas with a ham hock or bacon, but in the Nuovo-Southern/Veg Friendly style, adding some nice olive oil and salt and pepper is all you need.

Black Eyed Peas and Uncle Ben's long grain white rice are a classic Southern pairing. Be sure to add a few dollops of butter when you're cooking the rice and serve the two items side by side on the plate so that they can mingle on your fork.

Collard Greens
For our book club supper, I used chopped frozen collards, which are the poor and lazy man's way, just like my parents did when I was growing up. They are fast and easy and require little preparation. Like with the Black Eyed Peas, adding ham hocks for flavor is the traditional way, and most Southerners would insist that you cook collards for a minimum of two hours, or all day if you have the time (although such a long cooking period isn't generally necessary with pre-cooked frozen collards).

I'm pretty sure I was well into my 20's before I ever saw fresh collard greens, but they are easier to handle than they seem. About a half a pound of pre-cleaned collards is about one serving. Wash well in a very large bowl, remove the thick center stems, stack the leaves on top of each other and then roll them up to make chopping easier. Add the chopped collards to a large pot with sufficient water to cover. Bring to a boil and then lower to a simmer. Flavor with olive oil or ham hocks, add salt and pepper. Slow cook for a long as you can, and add vinegar (I prefer balsamic now, but I'm sure that my parents probably use apple cider vinegar) as the finishing-touch flavor.

Macaroni and Cheese
Homemade is always best, but Kraft was the staple in my childhood home. For book club, I used my friend Valorie's recipe:

Ingredients:
1/2 lb (= 8 oz = 2 cups) elbow macaroni
1/4 cup (4 Tbsp) butter
1 cup (1 small) onion - chopped
1/8 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
3 cups milk
1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded

Melt butter in a 4 quart saucepan over medium heat.
Add onion and saute until transparent. Stir in flour and salt.
Cook 1 minute, stirring constantly.
Add milk, stir to blend. Bring to a low, steady simmer.
Add uncooked elbow macaroni. Cover and continue to simmer gently for 8 minutes, stirring occasionally. (Mixture will thicken as it is cooking.)
Remove from heat. Add cheese. Stir gently until cheese is melted.
Let sit 5 minutes fore serving.