New Corn - Corn Bread, Mock Sausage, Apple Custard and Apple Sour Cream Pie

By Susan M. Thigpen © 1987-2012

Issue: April, 1987

This month our recipes come from a new cookbook, "Second Dinner Bell." It was published by the Brushy Mountain Volunteer Fire Department in Moravian Falls, North Carolina. It says it is the "Official Cookbook of the Brushy Mountain Apple Festival." It's called "Second Dinner Bell" because it is the second volume in the collection of mountain recipes.

Along with the recipes, you get short stories about the residents around Brushy Mountain. My copy of the book was given to me by Hazel Hedrick, who grew up there and some of her relatives and friends are featured in the book in story and by recipes.

You'll find a lot of old time recipes in this book, like how to make mush and hominy. You'll also find recipes for delicious cakes, pies, pickles and wild game meats. You'll find tips on things like how to singe a chicken, make pine tar and what "Dry Land Fish" are. There's a lot of good cooking in this one book and we hope you enjoy a few of the recipes we picked to print this month.

If you would like a copy of the book, you can mail order it from:

Ruritan Project Center
Route 1, Box 78
Moravian Falls, NC 28654

The book is $8.50 plus $1.75 for postage and handling, a total of $10.75 per copy.

New Corn - Corn Bread
From Mandy Parker

Pick your fresh corn just as soon as it reaches the firm stage and before it gets hard and dry. Then grate from the cob on a coarse grate. There will be "milk" in the corn   don't drain it.

1 cup grated corn
1/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 beaten egg
1/2 cup sweet milk
1 tablespoon melted butter

Sift together the dry ingredients. Combine with milk and egg, then stir into grated corn; add melted butter and mix. Pour into well greased pan and bake at 425 degrees until browned.

Mock Sausage
From Lillie Mae Hood

Mash leftover cooked black-eyed peas with enough flour to hold together; pat out into cakes and fry in pan drippings.

Apple Custard
From Stella Costner

(Old time cooks referred to any pie without a top crust as a custard pie   whether or not it had an egg custard filling. This is such a pie.)

Line a 9 inch pie plate with pastry. Fill with sliced peeled or unpeeled apples. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup sugar to which 1 teaspoon cinnamon has been added. Dot with butted. Sprinkle with water. Bake at 400 degrees for about 35 minutes. Delicious with ice cream or plain as is.

Apple Sour Cream Pie
From Clara Sibley

Pastry for 9 inch pie
Sift together:
2 tablespoons flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
3/4 cups sugar

Add:
1 egg, unbeaten
1 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Beat into a smooth batter, then stir in 2 and 1/4 cups diced, peeled apples. Pour into pastry lined pan and bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes, then at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and top with:

1/3 cup sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1/3 cup flour
1/4 cup margarine

Mix well and sprinkle on pie. Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes.