12/28/2019, Season 6, Episode 36 

“Traditional New Years Day Good Luck Foods” from 3 different cultures on the latest episode of The Tennessee Farm Table - Appalachian Black eyed peas, collard greens and cornbread in the form of “Hoppin’ John” with Martha Boggs (Owner of the Bistro at the Bijou, Knoxville) - Asian noodles and greens and Lisa Smith’s Hoppin’ John Recipe with Mary Constantine (Food writer for the Knoxville News Sentinel) - And I’ll deliver a recipe for the Greek good luck Vasillapita cake.

Links:
Amy deonstrating how to make “Smoky Mountain Sushi”on WBIR, TV 10: https://www.wbir.com/video/news/local/five-at-four/on-a-roll-try-this-smoky-mountain-sushi/51-af11d72c-992f-4034-aef9-6888dca4f54d
Mary (Dee Dee) Constantine: https://www.facebook.com/deedee.constantine.3
Lisa Jean’s Catering: http://bigfattyscatering.com/

Martha Boggs, owner of “The Bistro” at the Bijou: http://www.thebistroatthebijou.com/

January 7, 2019: John Coykendall, Michael Washburn Book Signing and Seed talk at the Blount County Public Library:  https://www.blounttn.org/calendar.aspx?

Sponsor of The Tennessee Farm Table Century Harvest Farms & Foundation: https://www.facebook.com/centuryharvest/

Emi Sunshine (Sings our theme song): http://theemisunshine.com/

Recipe for Asian Noodles & Greens from Mary ‘Dee Dee” Constantine (Retired Food writer for the Knoxville News Sentinel):

Ingredients:
Angel Hair pasta (or any long noodles you would like to use)
Fresh, washed Collard greens
Sesame Oil
Olive Oil
Sesame seed
Salt
Red Papper Flakes

Directions:
Bring pasta to a boil and add collards to boiling water and leave in there until pasta is cooked.
In a large, separate pan, saute mushrooms in a little bit of olive oil and soy sauce.
Drain pasta and collards.
Add drained pasta and collards to the pan with the mushrooms.
Sprinkle with Sesame Oil, Sesame seed, a little salt, some red pepper flakes for a kick and serve warm.……………

Vasilopita Cake Recipe:  A traditional Greek New Years Cake made of sugar, butter and flour, and usually flavored with anise, or Mahlab “MaLAB” (which is the ground pit of a Meditteranean wild cherry) which might be a little tricky to find quickly around here by next Tuesday, so you can substitute anise seed - I like to buy my spices at Three Rivers Market, or the Indian Market in Downtown West - you can save money  —— this cake is eaten on New Years day morning, usually served along with a big breakfast, which has a lucky coin, hard candy, or trinket baked inside, the cake is served in the order of youngest to eldest, and the person who is served the slice with the trinket or coin is said to have good luck all year.

Here’s a recipe for this cake that I found online at Epicurious:

Makes : 8 - 10 servings

INGREDIENTS:
3/4  c blanched, slivered almonds
1/3 c light brown sugar
1 Tb Honey
3 c all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp mahlab or 1 Tb anise seed
1 c (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 c granulated sugar
6 eggs
2 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 c milk
A coin, or hard candy, or trinket

To Prepare:
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter a 9-inch round cake pan and a 4-inch round cake pan.

To Make the Cake:
Combine the almonds, brown sugar, and honey in a small bowl, and set aside. Mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and mahlab in a medium bowl, and set aside. In a large bowl, cream the butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in the lemon juice and vanilla. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture, alternating with the milk, and mix well.

To Bake the Cake:
Divide one-third of the nut mixture between the two prepared pans, scattering it in an even layer over their bottoms. Fill the smaller (4-inch) pan two-thirds full of batter, then pour half of the remaining batter into the larger (9-inch) pan. Bake both layers for 20 minutes, until the cakes become a bit firm. Sprinkle half of the remaining almond mixture in an even layer over both cakes, and lay the coin on top of one of the partly baked cakes. Pour the remaining batter on top of each cake. Bake for another 20 to 25 minutes, until a knife inserted in the center of each comes out clean. Let the cakes cool in their pans for 10 minutes.

To Serve:
Remove the cakes from their pans, and place the smaller one on top of the larger. Top with the remaining almond mixture, and serve warm.

Recipe from Krystina Castella and photography from Renee Anjanette Photography: https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/vasilopita-361412

……………
“Smoky Mountain Sushi Recipe TM”, by Amy Campbell from The Tennessee Farm Table Podcast & Broadcast (www.TennesseeFarmTable.com)
“Smoky Mountain Sushi”  - an appetizer I made for New Year’s Day, but had such a favorable response to this recipe on social media, I have decided to demonstrate this as an “any time appetizer with an Appalachian Smoky Mountain Flare”. (This is not made with fish, but rather, made with country ham, sautéed collard greens, and black eyed peas) Yield: 20 rolls

Ingredients:
- One bunch of fresh collard greens

- 10 slices of prosciutto (which is extremely thin sliced country ham) - You can buy prosciuttos in lots of different places, but the better prosciutto is well aged. And I like to use Allan Benton’s - because it is well aged, and produced right down the road in Madisonville, TN. 

- Black eyes peas, either canned, or cooked from dry. (You will need 1 cup for every 20 rolls)

Directions:
- Triple wash the collard greens to remove all sand, shake dry, set aside on dry towel.

- Lay out your ingredients in a “work area” or a large cutting board.

- Cut each slice of Prosciutto across widest part so you end up with 2 “half moon” sheets per piece of prosciutto. (buy as many slices as you need for the crew you are preparing these for. Each slice of Prosciutto will yield 2 rolls)

-  Place 1 cup prepared black eyed peas out on your work area.

- Heat 1 tsp of olive oil in a small sautéed pan, and quickly sautéed for 12 - 3 minutes chopped collard greens in oil. Do this quickly, so they do NOT loose their vibrant green color, remove from pan and set aside on work surface.

To Assemble:

- On each 1/2 slice of Prosciutto, place about 1 tsp of black eyed peas.

- Place 1 tsp sautéed collard greens.

- Fold up up ends to keep stuffing contained and root up like a little egg roll. Place seam side down so they don’t “unroll”

- Place on a pretty dish and serve.

These can be made a day in advance, can be served at room temperature, and are not fussy! Enjoy!