Week 12 - Alabama

Greetings from the Yellowhammer State!  A little over a month ago, we stopped by Alabama as part of the National Grub Year. My parents moved to the Heart of Dixie while I was in college, and lived in a little town called Daphne that is right across the bay from Mobile.  They've since left 'Bama, bu my brother and his girlfriend still live there. It was always a place I liked visiting (even though the 10 hour drive from NC could be brutal). The people were friendly and the Gulf Coast was beautiful.  But the thing I remember most about my trips down there is the food. 


Baked Chicken with Alabama White Barbecue Sauce

Four chicken leg quarters
1 cup mayo
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon horseradish
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper


First, I started with the "white barbecue sauce."  To do this, I mixed the mayo, vinegar, brown sugar, lemon juice, horseradish, and pepper.

I put it in a large mason jar and let it set in the fridge overnight.


For the chicken, I seasoned it with salt, pepper, and olive oil, and baked it at 450 for about 10 minutes.

Tomato Pie

5 tomatoes, sliced
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup basil
1/2 cup chopped green onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1 cup mozzarella cheese
1 cup cheddar cheese
3/4 cup mayo
Pepper

I made this sans-pie crust, although the original recipe did call for one.  First, I preheated the oven to 350.  Then, I sliced the tomatoes and laid the slices out on a paper towel and sprinkled the salt over them.  After 10 minutes, I pat-dried the tomatoes and put them in the bottom of a greased pie dish. I topped them with the basil and green onion.

I combined the garlic, cheeses, mayo, and pepper together and spread this mix out on top of the tomatoes.

I baked this for 30 minutes and then let it rest for 10 before serving.



Sweet Potato Fluff

3 cups mashed sweet potatoes
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup flaked coconut
1 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup flour
1 cup pecans
1/3 butter

This was a lot like a sweet potato casserole, only a lot more whipped. First, I boiled and mashed the potatoes.

Next, I mixed the mashed sweet potatoes with the sugar, eggs, 1/2 cup butter, vanilla, and flaked coconut. I put this mix into a casserole dish.  I then mixed the brown sugar, flour, pecans, and 1/3 cup of butter and sprinkled this on top of the potato mixture.

Finally, I baked this at 350 for 30 minutes.

The result...

 

...was pretty awesome.  I've made this style of Alabama barbecue sauce before and I've grown to love it.  It's more like a djion/ranch style sauce than a traditional barbecue, but that in no way lessens how great it tastes.  I was also surprised at how well the tomato pie  came out.   The fluff was probably the weakest of the recipes that I tried.  I think that if I was to try that recipe again, I would probably cut back on the sugar, as it was just a little bit too sweet and we couldn't enjoy more than a few bites.

Overall, a solid stop on this culinary trip around the country!