Pumpkin and Pumpkin Pie Recipes from Tennessee

S10:E44. 11/18/2023

James Gann, Music Educator in Blount Co, TN won a blue ribbon for his pumpkin pie at the Great Smoky Mountains Heritage Center. James lets us know about the type of pumpkin he grows and his pie.

Haylee Gibadowski describes how to process a fresh pumpkin for pies and shares her recipe for a gluten and dairy-free pumpkin pie that is delicious. (Recipe below, keep scrolling)

Fred Sauceman’s Pot Luck Radio series features novelist Adriana Trigiani, Author of Big Stone Gap, Milk Glass Moon, and Big Cherry Holler describes her Appalachian autumn memories and a little story involving Elizabeth Taylor and choking on a chicken bone.

Links: James Gann - https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-gann-296017122/

Adriana Trigiani - https://adrianatrigiani.com/home/

Emi Sunshine (sang our theme song when she was nine years old) - https://theemisunshine.com/

Haley's Gluten & Dairy Free Pumpkin Pie Recipe

Heat oven to 350°

Ingredients:

• 2 cups pumpkin puree
• 12 ounces of coconut milk, or almond milk (the consistency of the coconut milk is more creamy)
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 2 pre-made deep dish gluten-free pie shells.

Directions:

Beat eggs with sugar. Add pumpkin puree to mixture. Add coconut milk, beat in spices and salt until smooth. Pour into unbaked pie shells. Bake in a 350° oven for 45 minutes or until the middle is set and doesn’t jiggle. Do not overbake.

James Gann poses with his prize winning pumpkin pie at the Great Smoky Mountains Heritage Center, Townsend TN.

Haylee Gibadowski’s recipe for gluten and dairy free pumpkin pie.

Recipes for Cobblers, Jam, and Pie from Fruits of the Season

S10:E26. 07/01/2023

Recipes for Cobblers, Jam, and Pie from Fruits of the Season (Recipes are at the bottom of the page; keep scrolling)

We are setting the table with Recipes for Cobblers, Jam, and Pie made from fruits of the season. Guests include:

• Farmers Susan and John Keller have been farming in Blount County, TN, on their family farm in continuous operation since 1890. UT Extension awarded John Keller Tennessee Farmer of the Year in 2014. Susan Keller shares a recipe for Miss Lily’s Blackberry Cobbler. This recipe comes from her Grandmother (Lilian Bays Hitch).
• Dee Dee Constantine (happily retired former food writer for the Knoxville News Sentinel) sets us straight on all of the terminology used in the arena of cobblers. She examines culinary terms such as brown Betty, cobblers, buckles, crisps, grunts, and slumps.
• I (Amy Campbell) share a recipe for Blackberry Jam from that classic “Minnie Pearl Cooks” cookbook.
• And an encore Farm and Fun-Time Heirloom Recipe segment recorded during the Farm and Fun Time Program at Radio Bristol - from storyteller Toni Doman sharing memories and her Grandmother’s recipe for cherry pie.

Links:

John and Susan Keller (Kelmont Farms) Phone (865) 983-2174

Mary “Dee Dee” Constantine: https://www.instagram.com/Skilletsister/?hl=en

Minnie Pearl Cooks Cookbook: https://www.abebooks.com/book-search/title/cooks/author/pearl-minnie/

Toni Dorman at Radio Bristol: https://birthplaceofcountrymusic.org/about/bcm-staff-and-board/

Emi Sunshine (arranged and sang our theme song when she was 9 years of age!): https://theemisunshine.com/

Recipes:

Susan Keller’s recipe for Miss Lily’s Blackberry Cobbler. This recipe comes from her Grandmother (Lilian Bays Hitch).

Ingredients:

• 1 c self-rising flour
• 1 c sugar
• 1 c milk
• 1 stick butter (melt this in a 9x13 pan)

Directions:

1. Mix flour, sugar, and milk until smooth.
2. Pour this batter over the melted butter in the pan
3. Place on top of all this about a quart of blackberries. (Use fresh, frozen, prepared filling)
4. Bake at 350 degrees (about 30 minutes) until set. *Use any fruit you want to

Recipe for Blackberry Grunt Slump provided by Dee Dee Constantine.

Ingredients:

• 4 c fresh berries, or frozen berries, defrosted, drained.
• 1 c All-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 T sugar
• 2 T butter
• 1/3 c whole milk

To make the dumplings:

1. Wisk flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar together in a medium size bowl.
2. Cut the butter into small cubes. Add to the flower. Using your hands, or a pastry cutter, work the butter into the dry ingredients until it resembles a coarse meal.
3. Add milk, stir just until it is moist, form the mixture into a ball, and set to the side.
4. Put berries in a 2-quart saucepan. Add 1/2 to 3/4 c sugar, depending on how sweet the berries are and how sweet you want your dessert.
5. Add 1 tsp lemon juice, 1 tsp. lemon zest, 1/4 tsp cinnamon, 1/3 c water.
6. Heat this mixture over medium-high heat until it starts to boil. Stir a few times to be sure all berries are covered with sauce.
7. Take your dumpling dough and tear it off into spoon size chunks of dough (about 6) and drop these onto your berries.
8. Reduce the heat, cover the pot, and let it simmer for about 25 minutes. Do not peek inside the pot while cooking because you will let the steam out.
9. Serve hot or cold with toppings of your choice.

Blackberry Jam from Minnie Pearl Cooks

Ingredients: 9 cups blackberries 6 cups sugar

Directions:

• Wash and drain berries. Combine berries and sugar
• Slowly bring to a boil.
• Cook until the mixture almost reaches the jelly point.
• Spread in a shallow pan.
• Let stand until cool or overnight.

*If the syrup is too thick, reheat and add boiling water, 1/4 cup at a time, until desired consistency is reached. If the syrup is too thin, cook again until desired consistency is reached. Pour into hot, sterilized jars and process for 20 minutes in a hot water bath. Or, follow directions for a hot water bath using the Ball Blue Book. I use the Ball Blue book for all my canning directions. Makes 3 - 4 pints.

Wild Tennessee blackberries from the Author’s home.. Photo: Amy Campbell.

Cornbread and Cornbread Salad with Josh Lowans

S9:E19. 05/21/2022

Cornbread, Cornbread, Cornbread, and Cornbread Salad with Josh Lowans.

We are setting the table today with cornbread. I've assembled an all-star lineup of guests today to talk about this soul-satisfying staple.

• Karen Shankles has twice won first place at the annual National Cornbread Festival cook-off. Today, she shares her recipe for Festive Good Luck Corn Bread Skillet with us.
• James Beard Award-winning food writer Ronni Lundy lets us know how she makes her skillet cornbread that goes with a pot of soup beans. And she also shares with us what she calls her tao of cornbread.
• Food preservationist with deep family ties to the East TN mountains and mountain cooking Shannon Walker lets us know how he makes his cornbread and his thoughts on cast iron cookware and old ways.
• And “Mountain Man”, Josh Lowans of Salubrious Farms, Walland, Knoxville, describes a Cornbread salad recipe that his better half Meagan makes and is his family's go-to recipe.

Links:

Karen Shankles: She co-owns an accounting firm in Knoxville. Here is her Linkedin link: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karen-shankles-45095054

Ronni Lundy: http://www.ronnilundy.com/

Adrian Miller: https://adrianemiller.com/about/meet-adrian/

Josh Lowans: On Instagram @joshlowans

Shannon Walker: On Instagram @newchilhoweevisions

National cornbread Festival: https://nationalcornbread.com/

Emi Sunshine (sings our theme song): https://theemisunshine.com/

Recipes:

Festive Good Luck Corn Bread Skillet. Karen Shankles shared this recipe that won the grand prize at the National Corn Bread Festival in South Pittsburg, Tennessee, in 2015. Link to Karen Shankle's prize-winning Festive Good Luck Cornbread Skillet recipe: https://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/festive-good-luck-cornbread-skillet

Corn Bread Salad: This recipe is one that Josh Lowans shared with Amy. His wife Meagan makes this dish often for their family, and the recipe comes from her.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 pan day-old cornbread (Josh recommends using Benton's bacon lard rendered from an entire pound of Benton's bacon. Megan prefers to use Three Rivers Cornmeal)
• 2 - 3 really ripe tomatoes, diced
• 1 can of pinto beans drained, not rinsed
• Fresh corn cut off of the cob
• Shredded cheese of your choice
• Ranch dip (make your own with herbs of your choice, sour cream, and mayonnaise)

To assemble, layer in this order:

• Crumble cornbread and place in the bottom of the serving container
• Layer pinto beans on top of the cornbread
• Layer cut corn over the beans
• Layer the diced tomatoes over the corn
• Layer ranch dressing (homemade)
• Layer of bacon (use Benton's bacon if you can get it)
• Layer Cheese on the top

Tips:

• Chill for 2 hours before serving.
• Don't use pre-made ranch dressing; it is too runny. Instead, Josh Lowans recommends using ranch dip and making your own. He suggests making it thick so the cornbread won't become soggy.
• This salad looks pretty in a clear glass serving container.

Homemade Ranch Dressing - There are countless recipes for homemade ranch dressing. Ingredients are Mayonnaise, Buttermilk, Sour Cream, Black Pepper, Salt, Garlic, and Onion; options include parsley, chives, and dill.