Edna Lewis, 1916-2006 Mother’s Day Memory Dinner

 

Edna Lewis was born in 1916 in Freetown Virginia. Freetown was a
community of freed slaves in Virginia.



Edna Lewis lived until March 2006 when she passed on to whatever is
next!



I thought I would put my wife a dinner together that sort of remembered
some of the work of this woman that never had a cooking lesson in her
life, yet was among the best known at getting southern cooking and soul
food put to paper for everyone to enjoy and understand. So to Edna Lewis
RIP this menu is for you!



They had what they grew and they used what they had, so I did the same:



First to prep the sweet peppers for the sweet carrots and roast peppers
with parsley:



Now I have one nice grill, but for roast peppers you can be there for
days. I found a little twenty dollar item at the local hardware store
that helps out a lot, meet my 75,000 BTU pepper friend!








She can take peppers from this state








And help them quickly get to this state













In a very short amount of time. And that is good because the roasted
carrot and pepper with fresh cut parsley needs to have that nasty
membrane off the pepper to taste right!



Root vegetables were very big amoung the freed slaves as they could be
stored for a very long time in root cellars. Here I am using baby
carrots that I peeled, steamed and hit with a little salt and pepper.








After steaming the roasted peppers in a plastic bag for a few minutes I
strip them and place them onto the carrots and fresh parsley.








For the main we are going to bar b q country style pork ribs. These are
from a hog we butchered last year. I sear them first in fennel seed and
corrainder. The fennel seed is toasted first in the oil for a few
minutes to bring the oils out into the olive oil used for searing.








Flip them after they sear for a few minutes








And then set them aside til its time to finish on the grill. Mean time
we still have work to do to complete the Edna Lewis Memorial Dinner! And
nothing says south like Collard Greens: So we set the collards up with a
steamer. A couple things I have done here to enhance the collards



First the beer I am using Tsingtao beer from China. But you can use any
of the greener ales to do this. Just dump about half a bottle in the
bottom of the steamer and add a little salt and pepper. Get them
started.













When you start to get steam up we add the secret ingredient. We know the
yummies on the bottom of the searing pan should never been thrown away.
In Freetown Virginia they did not throw anything away that had another
use! So we do what should be done and deglaze that pan to capture the
essence that is left.












Let them finish and forget them. They will taste great with that fennel
running around in there with the ale background.



Now for a bread, in her writings Edna speaks of cornbread and the many
variations of cornbread that have been used through the years. After
reading her book two years ago I spent a lot of time researching
cornbreads. So many variation, so many additives, so many opinions on
what was best! I finally started to keep track of recipes that had won
awards. I began to see a pattern. The award winners varied as well. With
one exception, most of the award winners had a recipe that called for
the bread to be cooked in a preheated cast iron skillet. And so it is
with me that I now always cook the cornbread in a 450 degree preheated
cast iron skillet.








The above batter is cornmeal, flour, and is using baking powder as the
levin. But oh what it becomes!








This is a very tasted bread enjoyed, with secret family recipes, tricks
and special ingredients. Cornbread in all its forms is a simple dish
that is just great!



Edna speaks of everyone having the ability to raise a couple chickens.
Eggs are perhaps the perfect protien source! Easy to deal with, used in
many many forms and really easy to get as raising and caring for
chickens is not that hard to do. So to this dinner as a little gift we
add the farm raised (we raise our own) deviled eggs, ever popular and
ever easy to make ahead of time!








Now we know cabbage is a fairly easy to grow crop with not a lot of
chance for a crop failure. Edna has written on coleslaw and such. I
agree that a cabbage side is required to round out this southern meal,
but for me it will be a different slaw, a slaw known to some a peppered
cabbage. Very easy to make, first shred your cabbage.








Then add in 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar, 1/4 cup cane sugar, 1/2 cup
water, salt and pepper. Toss cabbage with dressing. Now fine diced one
green bell pepper, and two stalks of celery. Toss them into the cabbage
and mix well. Cover and let it sit an hour or so.








Hit the ribs to the grill, now we get the aurgument of what to do with
the ribs. I personally like all kinds of Bar B Q. But I have been
playing with vegetation smoke lately. And today as the mint grows wild
and high in Virginia we are going to smoke our ribs over smoldering wild
mint. I am hoping for a nice sweet background. It should match my tomato
and molassas mop nicely.





Finishing the ribs I pull it all together for the Mothers Day Dinner
inspired by one Chef that never took a lesson in her life, but put on
paper a genre of cooking that is so unique to the USA that its loss
would have been a true tragedy!








Plated up she comes out a little like this:








Edna speaks of eggs again and again. So for dessert we use the egg in
all its glory once again as I present the Black Raspberry Creme Brulee!








I hope each of you had a great mothers day.



Til we talk again cook something from the past, it is a blast!



Chef Bob Ballantyne

The Cowboy and The Rose Catering

Grand Junction, Colorado