Kentucky Traditions

This past weekend was ”The Run for The Roses”   – The Kentucky Derby in Louisville, KY where my son lives.  I spent the almost 12 years in that beautiful state and really learned a great deal from the wonderful women I met there. 

Office potlucks were common and I was always amazed at the creativity of their recipes.  BUT, they were not apologetic about the fat and butter in their dishes – they clearly thought we Californians were too “worried” about healthy living.

At Derby time, it was not hard to find someone having a Derby party.  Because of tradition, it was mandatory that the party include these three things – mint juleps, burgoo and some kind of barbeque.  I’ve always wanted to attempt to make burgoo but haven’t seen a recipe that looked like it had the ingredients of the one I was familiar with.   (And I really dislike mint…so THAT mint drink tradition was never followed in my house!  Ha!)

One of my fondest memories is from when we visited Berea, KY and ate at Boone Tavern.  They are famous for their traditional southern cooking and a dish they call “Spoonbread”.  I recently tested a Le Creuset 2.4l Round French Oven for Cooking.com and was very happy with the recipe.

RECIPE INGREDIENTS 3 cups milk 1 1/4 cups cornmeal 3 eggs 2 tablespoons butter 1 3/4 teaspoons baking powder 1 teaspoon salt

DIRECTIONS Stir meal into rapidly boiling milk (use WHITE cornmeal for true southern bread). Cook until very thick, stirring constantly, to prevent scorching. Remove from fire and allow to cool. The mixture will be cold and very stiff. Add well beaten egg, salt, baking powder, and melted butter. Beat with electric beater for 15 minutes. If hand beating is used, break the hardened cooked meal into the beaten eggs in small amounts until all is well mixed. Then beat thoroughly for 10 minutes using a wooden spoon. Pour into well greased casserole. Bake for 30 minutes at 375 degrees. Serve from casserole by spoonfuls.

This is a great accompaniment for any meal but I especially liked it with the bowl of chili I’d prepared that night.

Now…if anyone has a great burgoo recipe they’d like to share…