Cilla McCain's Blog, page 6

Jeremiah Weed Kentucky Bourbon Cranberry Sauce

Click to view slideshow.

- 4 cups fresh cranberries

- 3/4 cup maple syrup

- 1/2 cup Jeremiah Weed (or more)

- 1/2 cup sugar

- finely grated zest and juice of 1 orange

- a dash of cinnamon

- a dash of ground ginger

- a dash of cardamom

1. In a medium saucepan, combine cranberries, maple syrup, brandy, sugar, orange zest and juice, cinnamon, ginger, and cardamom. Bring to boiling, stirring to dissolve sugar.

2. Reduce heat to medium. Simmer for 4 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Using a slotted spoon, remove 1/2 cup whole berries to use for garnish.

3. Continue simmering remaining berries, stirring constantly, until all the berries have popped and the sauce is a velvety juice, about 6 to 7 minutes longer.

4. Strain through sieve to remove skins.

5. Refrigerate until cold

Iron Skillet Cornbread Dressing

Iron Skillet Cornbread dressing

WARNING: This is real southern comfort cooking. You may gain a pound or two.

Most Southerner’s prefer cornbread dressing to stuffing any day of the week. Here is a simple recipe used in many southern kitchens. Baking in iron skillet will give it a slightly crunchy bottom and top, and a very moist center, making it perfect to eat plain or doused with turkey gravy.

Combine the following together in a large bowl. No mixer required, just a big spoon.

 

8 cups of crumbled cornbread (day old is best)

2 cups of crumbled biscuits (not canned!)

2 cans of cream of chicken soup

2 eggs

1 cup of milk

2 cups of chicken stock

½ cup of melted vegetable shortening

1 small onion – chopped

1 cup of celery – chopped

2 tablespoons dried sage

1 teaspoon of salt

1 teaspoon of pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Put 1 tablespoon of margarine and 1 tablespoon of vegetable shortening in a large (at least 15 inches) iron skillet.

Place skillet in the oven to allow the margarine and shortening to melt completely. When it starts to sizzle, carefully take out of the oven and pour in the dressing mixture. Leave about ½ free for the dressing to rise a bit.

Cover with a layer of tin foil and bake for 45 minutes.

Remove tin foil and bake the remaining time (apx 15 minutes) uncovered. Test to make sure a toothpick comes out clean. Don’t over bake. Depending on the depth of your skillet, you may have enough for 2 batches.

2013 CMA Awards and The Southern Shakespeare

Miranda Lambert 2013 CMA Awards

Is it just me or has country music become over packaged?  Either way, it looks like a good time was had by all. Here’s a recap by USA Today of the 2013 CMA Awards Show that includes a list of quotable moments. My favorite came from Miranda Lambert who said she’d have to give up Blake Shelton if she gave up drinking:

“You have to drink to put up with that.”

http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/music/2013/11/07/cma-awards-backstage/3459409/

Congratulations to all the winners and nominees but I’m pretty old school when it comes to country music. I love the old-time simplicity of performers like Hank Williams Sr. who is by far the Southern Shakespeare.

Aiken Standard: CORNBREAD AND BUTTERMILK – The heavenly sound of Standard (Southern) English

Here’s a fun piece about Southern accents from The Aiken Standard:

by  Gene Owens

“The cultivated Southern drawl conjures images of moonlight and magnolias among whispering pine trees. If you think that’s sing-song, you need to get your ears tuned. Even the Daisy Duke accent has a spicy flavor that promises excitement and adventure.”

Read more: CORNBREAD AND BUTTERMILK: The heavenly sound of Standard (Southern) English | Aiken Standard

 

 

Actress Dixie Carter Kicked Butts Without Ever Lifting a Foot!

Dixie Virginia Carter: May 25, 1939 – April 10, 2010

As a southern woman striving to succeed in an industry that tends to marginalize my kind, actress Dixie Carter was/is a hero of mine. She was never afraid to be just what she was: a strong-yet-gentile, sassy-yet-kind, intelligent, feminine, southern belle. On the contrary, she embraced herself.

Arriving in New York to pursue a stage career, this Tennessee Belle ignored the jokes of naysayers and ended up being warmly received in the highbrow culture of Broadway. As she entered her 40s, Dixie also found success in Los Angeles – a town not exactly known for welcoming any female over the age of 30. By the time she took the role of Julia Sugarbaker on the television series Designing Women, Dixie’s reputation as a woman who represented the real south had taken hold. And boy did she show us all how to kick a few butts without ever raising her foot off the ground!

Watch and learn:

 

Dixie Carter on InnerVIEWS:

 

 

 

Rockin’ Saturday: The Black Crowes and Otis Redding

The Black Crowes are currently on tour. For dates visit: http://www.blackcrowes.com/tour-dates/

The song “Hard to Handle” was originally written and recorded in 1968 by Georgia’s own, Otis Redding. It has been covered by everyone from Tom Jones to Mae West (if you can imagine that!) However, one of the best covers is by The Black Crowes. These Georgia musicians are the real thing: no computer manipulation, no crotch grabbing and no lip syncing.  It’s hard to choose between the Crowes and Redding, so we’ll just give ya both!

Images of the South: Legs in Smoke

Caffery, Debbie Fleming
Untitled (Legs in Smoke)
1987

The Ogden Museum of Southern Art  is home to the largest collection of southern artwork in the world. Among this collection is “Legs in Smoke” by photographer Debbie Fleming Caffery. Caffery’s photographs are poignantly genius. She is able to capture those fleeting moments in life that don’t register easily with the human eye, but are somehow cemented deep into the brains memory. When I view “Legs in Smoke” it invokes recollections of the hard working men in the South. Men who started out with the strength of Hercules and by the end of their lives moved slower and stiffer but kept going in spite of the pain. It makes me realize that while taking the necessary strides toward achieving equality and a level playing field, we women sometimes forget that this country was built with the blood, sweat and  broken backs of men. And as for the working men who get to sit in an air conditioned office with a staff to delegate to – well, I’ll bet most of them forget as well.

What thoughts emerge when you look at “Legs in Smoke?”

In Homage to Author Michael Palmer

Author Michael Palmer

I am shocked and saddened to learn that medical thriller author Michael Palmer passed away on Oct. 30, 2013. I had the privilege of knowing Michael for the past few years and I considered him a friend and mentor.

When he was writing the book Political Suicide, I was honored when he sought my input about the inner workings of the military justice system. I was particularly thrilled when he shared chapters with me as he wrote it. He generously critiqued the first draft of my forthcoming book A Non-Hostile Incident and even recommended it to his publisher, St. Martin’s Press.

As the years rolled on, we would write or call each other to shoot the breeze; always comparing life in Georgia to that of Massachusetts. Instead of mocking my Southern accent, he seemed fascinated by it and would ask me to repeat Southernisms he’d never heard. When I worried that my Southern drawl might not be appropriate for the topics I covered, he encouraged me to embrace it, rather than attempt to mute it.

Our last communication was on October 7. He wrote to offer his continued support of my work with military families and to fill me in on a planned trip to southern Africa. He said that he had “just finished book number 20 and was working on ideas for the next.” As always, he asked about my children and I asked about his. He signed off with the usual: be well, xo, michael.

He leaves behind legions of loyal readers, but what I will always remember most about Michael is that he was the personification of a proud father. Despite selling millions of books in more than 35 languages, his greatest source of pride was his sons. He loved to describe them in detail and frequently shared news of their accomplishments.

I learned a lot from him, and I will miss his friendship. I offer my deepest sympathies to his family; in particular his sons to whom he was extraordinarily devoted. His words live on, and he will not be forgotten.

Originally published at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/cilla-mccain/in-homage-to-author-michael-palmer_b_4182248.html

Spirits Roam in Savannah, Georgia

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The late Jim Williams whose legal woes were depicted in the book “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil” is said to haunt his beloved Mercer House.

Ah, Savannah, Georgia.  Just the name conjures up images of stunning homes, live oaks dripping with Spanish moss, and endless cocktail parties filled with torrid gossip. It beckons you to sit a spell, catch a little buzz and enjoy a great low country meal. There are contenders of course, but no other city speaks to the soul quite like this beautiful place.

However, is it more than the scenery and libations that hypnotize visitors?

Savannah is also known as the most haunted city in America. You see, in the south, being dead doesn’t necessarily mean that you are no longer a part of everyday life. On the contrary, we southerners carry our past right on in to our present and future.

Then again, maybe Savannah is a hotbed of spiritual activity because it was the only city spared by General Sherman as he led Union soldiers from town to town burning the South to the ground. There are many rumors as to why Sherman didn’t order up the flames. Some say it’s because he found the city so breathtakingly beautiful that he couldn’t bear to destroy it. Others claim it was because the slaves actually stood up against the destruction of their city. But most likely, it was because the locals poured him one cocktail after another and fed him a sprawling array of southern food. Regardless, stepping into Savannah is a trip into history and with nearly every building a registered landmark there’s bound to be some old spirits roaming around.

To start, some say that antique dealer and accused murderer Jim Williams haunts his beloved Mercer House, while the house of Juliette Gordon Low, the founder of the Girl Scouts, is reportedly haunted by her grandmother Sarah. But it’s not just old antebellum homes allegedly filled with ghosts. The Pirate’s House restaurant was once a bar in which drunken men were kidnapped, dragged through a secret underground tunnel and forced to work on departing ships.

The list of haunted sites is endless and whether you buy into the legends or not,  Savannah is one helluva place to visit.

The Most Haunted Hotel in Texas

The Menger Hotel provides luxurious accommodations to the living and the dead.

The Menger Hotel sits adjacent to the world famous Alamo in San Antonio Texas. Built in 1858 by William Menger it quickly became a favorite place to stay for a variety of famous guests. Among them were Teddy Roosevelt and his Rough Riders, who spent many rowdy evenings drinking in the hotel’s bar. Others included Robert E. Lee, Mae West, Babe Ruth and an array of esteemed writers such as Oscar Wilde.

Being so old, The Menger is not without its share of ghostly intrigue. In fact at least 32 different spirits have made their presence known. Some appear to be those who died at the Battle of the Alamo, while others are guests and employees who liked the place so much they decided to stick around even after death. Ghostly cooks are still working in the kitchen moving utensils through the air and a cowboy is frequently seen by guests as he angrily asks “Are you gonna stay or are you gonna go?”

However, the most famous ghostly presence belongs not to one of the rich and entitled, but to a chambermaid named Sallie White. As legend has it, Sallie got into a knock-down-drag-out fight with her husband while she was at work. Then, a few days later on March 28, 1876, the s.o.b. came back and shot her. Back then there was no such thing as emergency room care, so Sallie stayed at the hotel as she died slowly from her injuries. Today, she is still on the job and is frequently seen wearing her gray uniform and carrying towels from room to room.

So, if you are in San Antonio and want to see some ghosts, it sounds like The Menger is the place to be.