Heirloom Eats

Every family has one: a recipe that evokes memories of a messy kitchen counter and loved ones gathered around the table. We’ve scoured our area to find some of the best passed-down family recipes. Here, these Chattanoogans take a walk down memory lane. Photos by Med Dement

Heirloom Eats – 2015

Three Bean Casserole

“This is my interpretation of a dish by my mother because she never wrote any of her recipes down. It represents time spent with my family; cooking it with my mother and sisters, making it for my boys, teaching my granddaughter how to make it. This family has always loved spending time together in the kitchen.”

By Annette and Alex Stanbery

Ingredients:

2 cups cooked green beans (drained)
4 cups cooked green peas (drained)
4 cups cooked green peas (drained)
1 cup mayonnaise
4 hard-boiled eggs, grated
1 small onion, grated
1 teaspoon mustard
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
A dash of Tabasco sauce

Directions:

1. Pour layers of beans into casserole dish.

2. Combine mayonnaise, grated eggs,
grated onion, mustard, Worcestershire
sauce, and Tabasco to make a sauce.

3. Pour the sauce over bean mixture.

4. Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes, until
heated through. Do NOT allow to boil.

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Corn Pudding

“This recipe was passed down to me by my grandmother, Mallie Whitehead Phillips, who had it passed down to her many years ago. This corn pudding reminds me of childhood, and all the meals I shared with my parents and siblings. I’ve passed the recipe down to my children, who all enjoy it and know it was handed down from their greatgrandmother.”

By Keith Sanford

Ingredients:

2 cans small kernel sweet corn
1/3 cup sugar
1 or 2 eggs, depending on size
milk
butter
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
A dash of Tabasco sauce

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Lightly butter a rectangular baking dish.

3. Beat eggs lightly.

4. Add sugar and corn to the eggs. Add enough milk to make it “soupy.”

5. Pour into baking dish.

6. Sprinkle salt and pepper on top and “dot” with butter.

7. Place in oven – watch to see when butter melts, then stir with a fork.

8. Bake for 30 minutes or until no liquid remains.

 

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Mama’s Chicken & Dumplings

“My Grandma Sanders taught this recipe to my mother, Ernestine Lawson. My mom liked to cook alone and never let anyone in the kitchen with her. Sometimes she’d let you watch, but you had to stay out of her way! She raised her own chickens, so we always had fresh meat. I just made sure not to see the process because I wanted to enjoy dinner! My mom died from melanoma when I was 22, and I’m so thankful I have some of her recipes as one of the special ways to keep her memory with me.”

By Pat Fuller

Ingredients:

Approximately 5 lbs. bone-in chicken (skin optional)
celery, onion, and carrots, to taste
salt and pepper, to taste
1 bay leaf
water to cover
fresh or frozen green peas (optional)

Directions:

Chicken
1. Boil chicken on medium heat for 45 to 60 minutes or until chicken is tender. Remove chicken from broth and allow to cool.

2. Remove chicken from bone and separate into the size that you prefer.

3. Strain broth. Add chicken to strained broth.

Dumplings
1. Sift together five cups plain flour and 1 1/4 teaspoon of salt.

{Make sure to use plain flour or you’ll end up with biscuits instead of dumplings.}

2. Add two heaping wooden spoonfuls of Crisco. Blend with pastry cutter.

3. Add 2 1/4 cups evaporated milk. Stir until blended.

Chicken & Dumplings
1. Knead dough on floured surface until stiff.
2. Roll dough until thin, to a consistency a little thicker than pie crust.
3. Cut into 3/4-inch strips and cut across in approximately 2-inch pieces.
4. Heat broth and chicken until boiling.
5. Carefully drop dumplings into boiling broth.
6. Stir as needed. Stir easily to avoid breaking dumplings.
7. Cook for 8 to 12 minutes or until dumplings are tender.
8. Add fresh or frozen green peas at the end (optional).

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MamaAnn’s Chicken Spaghetti

“My grandmother, and then my mother, ran a boarding house called Oaklawn Inn in a small town called Sylacauga, Alabama. Breakfast and dinner were served Monday through Friday not only for the boarders, but for others that made reservations for dinner. On some nights there would be at least 60 people for dinner. My mother, who’s 95 now, was also a caterer. She developed this chicken spaghetti recipe, which was a favorite for many at Oaklawn Inn as well as her catering clients. My three children would always request this recipe when visiting Mama Anne.”

By Emily Straussberger

Ingredients:

1 whole chicken (4-5 lb)
1 1/2 cups chopped celery
3 small onions, chopped
1 medium green bell pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 can mushrooms (drained) or 1 cup fresh mushrooms
2 16-oz. canned tomatoes
1/2 cup cooking oil
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. dried thyme
chicken broth
1 16-oz. package spaghetti
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 lb. New York sharp cheese, grated

Directions:

1. Cook chicken in two quarts of water seasoned with salt, pepper, one teaspoon basil, and one teaspoon thyme until chicken is tender when poked with a fork.

2. Debone cooked chicken and discard bones.

3. Heat cooking oil and cook onions, garlic, and celery until half done.

4. Add tomatoes, bell pepper, mushrooms, Worcestershire sauce , chicken, and one cup of broth.

5. Simmer for about 10 minutes.

6. Cook spaghetti in chicken broth.

7. Add cooked spaghetti, salt, pepper, and 1/4 pound of cheese to chicken mixture.

8. Place in large buttered casserole dish with remaining cheese on top.

9. Heat until hot and bubbly at 350 degrees.

 

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Buttermilk Biscuits

“My mother got this recipe in Dublin, Georgia in the 1950s from her best friend’s mom, Reba Hogan Lanier. Mrs. Lanier had eight siblings and their mother increased or decreased the recipe depending on how many were eating. She made them in her wooden dough bowl, made for her by her papa. My mother, Judy Griffin, watched them make biscuits, and I watched her much in the same way. I make these occasionally on weekends when one of my children is home, and I usually share leftovers with my neighbors – most of the time I make about a dozen.”

By Mike Griffin

Ingredients:

3 cups self-rising flour
1 cup shortening
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
1 tsp. sugar

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 410 degrees.

2. Place flour in a mixing bowl and mix in sugar.

3. Cut shortening into the dry mixture with a fork or spoon, making small lumps of dough.

4. Add buttermilk and stir.

5. Hand-scoop dough into balls, roll in both hands, dust with flour, pat out, and place on baking sheet.

Tip: Dough should be sticky and shaped in your hands – don’t roll and cut out biscuits.

6. Bake for 10-12 minutes. If needed, turn on broil to brown tops. Makes about a dozen.

 

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Beef with Broccoli

“I have two books of recipe cards and newspaper clippings that belonged to my grandmother, and they’re some of my most prized possessions. This recipe is one of them. The crazy thing about it is that it was off a La Choy package! I remember having this at my grandparents’ house for dinner many times. My grandfather was in the Air Force for more than 30 years and they lived and traveled all over the world. Because of this, my grandmother cooked a lot of things that my friends thought were weird… like this dish. Even though it’s “Americanized” Chinese food, not a lot of people had homemade Chinese on their tables in Soddy-Daisy in the 1980s. I think the things my family ate when I was a kid really shaped the way I think about food and the way I cook today.

By Mary Haymaker

Ingredients:

1 lb. boneless beef, trimmed of fat
(flank steak or skirt steak are preferred)
1/3 cup low-sodium chicken broth
3 Tbsp. soy sauce
3 Tbsp. dry sherry
1 1/2 Tbsp. cornstarch
1 Tbsp. grated fresh ginger or 1 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 cup vegetable or canola oil
1 clove garlic, minced
3/4 lb. broccoli, florets cut apart, stems quartered and cut into small pieces
1 red, yellow, or orange pepper, seeded and cut into 1-inch pieces
8 oz. can sliced water chestnuts, drained
1 cup grape tomatoes, halved

Directions:

1. Place beef onto baking sheet and place in freezer for 45 minutes. Remove from freezer and slice beef as thinly as possible against the grain. Place into a large bowl.

2. Stir together chicken broth, soy sauce, sherry, cornstarch, and ginger until the cornstarch is dissolved. Pour 1/4 cup of the sauce over the beef and toss to coat. Let stand for 30 minutes.

3. Heat two tablespoons of the oil in a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat. Remove beef from marinade and cook until no longer pink. Remove from skillet and set aside. Wipe out skillet.

4. Heat the remaining two tablespoons of oil over medium-high in the skillet. Add garlic and sauté for about 30 seconds. Add broccoli, water chestnuts, and peppers and sauté until crisp-tender, stirring constantly. Add the remaining sauce and cook until thickened. Add beef and tomatoes and cook until heated through. Serve with rice or lo mein noodles.

Tip: Stir-fries go so quickly that you won’t have time for chopping and measuring once you’ve put food in the pan! Prep your veggies ahead of time and have them near the stove so you can throw them in the pan as needed.

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Cornbread Dressing & Egg Bread

“A form of this mixture has been in my family for more than 100 years. It was passed down from my dad’s mom, my Great-Grandmother Speigner. I remember helping my Grandmother Speigner make this recipe in Enterprise, Alabama, and I make it during the holidays with my dad even now. He’s 92 now and is still the best cook I know. I have such wonderful memories of making this recipe with him.”

By Cindy Cornette

Ingredients:

2 skillets egg bread*
8 eggs, beaten
1 sleeve crushed saltine crackers
3 pieces white bread, toasted and crumbled
2 cups celery, chopped
2 cups onions, chopped
1 bundle of green onions, chopped
1 Tbsp. poultry seasoning (or more to taste)
1 tsp. sage
2 quarts chicken or turkey broth
1 cup of water
salt and pepper to taste (it takes a lot of pepper)

Directions:

1. Crumble egg bread, crackers, and white bread in large roasting pan. Let air dry overnight.

2. Cook celery and onions until tender.

3. Add eggs to egg bread mixture. Pour in celery and onions with juices they were cooked in.

4. Add green onions, seasonings to taste,
and begin slowly adding broth and stirring.

5. Continue to add broth until mixture is very moist, but not too soupy.

6. Add additional seasonings if needed.

7. After all ingredients are mixed well, bake at
325 degrees for two hours or until golden brown on top.

*Egg Bread:
2 cups cornmeal
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1/3 cup bacon drippings
2 eggs
2 cups buttermilk

Grease a cast iron skillet and heat in a 425 degree oven. Mix salt and baking powder with corn meal. Dissolve baking soda into buttermilk and stir into mixture. Add eggs and mix well. Add drippings and stir until blended. Pour into a hot skillet and bake at 425 degrees until bread is brown around the edges, about 25 minutes.

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Sweet Potato Casserole

“This recipe was passed down to me from my mother-in-law who clipped it from the paper nearly 40 years ago. I married into the family almost 30 years ago, and I always helped her prepare this dish during Thanksgiving and Christmas. I can still remember that first bite – the gooey sweetness in my mouth with a little crunch added into the mix. I plan to keep this sweet treat as a holiday favorite at many McCoy family gatherings for generations to come.”

By Connie McCoy

Ingredients:

Casserole
3 cups of cooked, mashed sweet potatoes
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup melted butter
2 medium eggs
1 Tbsp. vanilla
1 Tbsp. cinnamon
1/4 Tbsp. nutmeg
1/4 cup heavy cream (whole milk
can be substituted if desired)

Topping
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup chopped pecans
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
3 Tbsp. melted butter
1 cup mini marshmallows

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

2. Mix all ingredients together, excluding
heavy cream or whole milk.

3. Mix all ingredients in a mixer until
smooth. Once smooth, add in heavy
cream or whole milk, and mix well.

4. Pour ingredients into greased 9-inch
casserole dish.

5. Bake for 25-30 minutes.

6. Mix all topping ingredients together.

7. After casserole has baked for 25-30
minutes, let it stand for 10 minutes,
then sprinkle topping mixture over
the casserole.

8. Place back into oven until melted.

 

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