At 81, Joseph E. Dabney is the grand old man of Southern food writing: chronicler of corn-whiskey, historian of smokehouse ham, poet laureate of purloos and pinders — or pilafs and peanuts, if you aren’t familiar with the folksy vernacular of this gentleman author from Dunwoody.
Dabney may be the only man in Atlanta with a moonshine still on his back deck. It’s a relic of the time in the ’70s when he researched “Mountain Spirits,” a treatise on white-lightning that landed him a “Today Show” interview with Gene Shalit. In 1998, the Kershaw, S.C., native and Berry College graduate published his sleeper hit: “Smokehouse Ham, Spoon Bread, & Scuppernong Wine,” a cultural cookbook documenting the traditions of Southern Appalachia and filled with recipes for Dried Apple Stack Pies, Cherokee Yellow Jacket Soup (yep, made from insects) and Leather Britches (dried green beans). A fastidiously researched, beautifully written, lovingly assembled gravy boat of anecdotes and arcana from hillbilly country, the 500-page epic won the 1999 James Beard Cookbook of the Year Award.
Now the beloved "fork-lorist" and ramblin’ food scribe travels to the South Carolina and Georgia coasts. With “The Food, Folklore, and Art of Lowcountry Cooking” (Cumberland House, $29.99), the retired journalist and former Lockheed-Georgia publicist has penned a praise song to Charleston She-Crab Soup, Savannah Pan-Fried Flounder, South Carolina Sweet Potato Pie and some 130 other regional delicacies.
“The food is just scrumptious,” says the ever-chuckling Dabney, who appears Saturday at the AJC Decatur Book Festival. “It’s wonderful in so many ways.” He credits the culinary splendor to the Lowcountry’s abundance of seafood, the cultivation of rice during colonial times and the influence of slave cooks, who brought okra, black-eyed peas, peanuts and benne (sesame) seeds from Africa. “You’ve got a big rice culture there, so you’ve got all your purlows, your red rice, your hoppin’ johns. And you can add in your shrimp, oysters, chicken or whatever.”
More recipe gatherer and folklorist than cook/practitioner, the former newspaper reporter began a fact-finding journey through the Lowcountry in 2008, interviewing oyster pickers, pilau cooks, pit masters and restaurant chefs. The recipes range from the whimsical to the sophisticated.
Retired South Carolina educator Ervena Faulkner shares her recipe for Beaufort-style Crab Cakes. Chef Louis Osteen contributed his famous Shrimp and Grits, Brown Oyster Stew with Benne Seeds and other dishes. Savannah’s Frank W. “Sonny” Seiler, who has supplied the University of Georgia with a venerable line of bulldog mascots, gave a recipe for a favorite tailgate nosh, Savannah Marinated Shrimp.
Sitting at his desk in the home he shares with his wife, Susanne, Dabney chortles over a recipe for Alligator Creek Shrimp by the late C&S Bank tycoon Mills B. Lane Jr. The old coot from Savannah said to marinate the shellfish in soy sauce, have a beer and “give the bowl a stir when you feel like it.”
Dabney discovered Margaret King Lee — a transplant from Loris, S.C., a town known for its Loris Bog-Off Festival every October — in Dunwoody. The celebratory dish, Chicken Bog, is just another type of rice pilaf, flavored with bird and broth. “It’s almost like chicken and dumplings,” Dabney says. “You need to get that chicken broth and get it absorbed in that rice. That’s the key to it.”
He dedicates his Lowcountry book to his five children, “who grew up eating their share of Susanne’s Chicken Purloo.” Lucky devils.
Event preview
Meet the author events.
3-5 p.m. Sept. 3. Borders, 4475 Roswell Road, Marietta. 770-565-0947.
12:30 p.m.-1:15 p.m. Sept. 4. AJC Decatur Book Festival, Decatur Conference Center Stage, Ballroom A, 130 Clairemont Ave., Decatur. 404-471-5769, decaturbookfestival.com
2-4 p.m. Sept. 11. Dunwoody Library, 5339 Chamblee-Dunwoody Road, Dunwoody. 770-512-4640.
Recipes
Adapted from Joseph E. Dabney’s “The Food, Folklore, and Art of Lowcountry Cooking” (Cumberland House, $29.99), these recipes pay tribute to both the Lowcountry and the flavors of fall. Loris Chicken Bog is a kind of purloo (a.k.a. pilaf or pilau) in which the broth of a chicken is saved and returned to the pot with rice, shredded chicken and sausage. It’s a wonderful main-dish meal. From Savannah, Andrew’s Peanut Collard Greens recipe is for a terrific side dish suggesting a West African stew. South Carolina Sweet Potato Pie is a lovely finish to a meal: not too heavy, sweet or spicy -- a good recipe to clip and save for the holidays.
Loris Chicken Bog
Hands on: 20 minutes
Total time: 1 hour, 20 minutes
Serves: 10-12
1 3-pound whole chicken
1 cup chopped onion
1 pound smoked sausage
2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
1½ teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
2 cups uncooked long-grain white rice
In a large lidded pot or Dutch oven, place the chicken, onion and 5 cups water. Bring to a boil over high heat; then turn down heat to low and simmer gently until chicken is done throughout — about 30 minutes. (You may want to flip chicken after about 15 minutes to cook evenly.) When chicken is done, remove from liquid and place on a large platter to cool for 20-30 minutes; allow broth to cool and dip off excess fat.
When chicken is cool enough to handle, remove all bones and skin, and shred into bite-size pieces. (The chicken pieces shouldn’t be too small, or they will dry out during cooking.) Slice sausage into ¼-inch pieces. Place chicken, sausage, Italian seasoning, salt, black pepper and rice back in the pot. Cover with 5 cups of the chicken broth; if there less broth, add water to make 5 cups. Stir gently, cover, and bring to a boil. As soon as chicken comes to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer until rice absorbs broth, about 20-30 minutes. Taste to make sure rice is done, and adjust seasonings. Depending on your taste, you may want to serve the rice while still slightly wet; or you may allow it to cook until dry and fluffy. Don’t overcook, or rice will start to burn.
Per serving, based on 10: 392 calories (percent of calories from fat, 43), 23 grams protein, 32 grams carbohydrates, 1 gram fiber, 18 grams fat (6 grams saturated), 73 milligrams cholesterol, 803 milligrams sodium.
Andrew’s Peanut Collard Greens
Dabney discovered these greens at Andrew and Eileen Trice’s Angel’s Barbecue in Savannah. If you want to spice ‘em up, add the optional red pepper flakes (or substitute fresh chilies), and garnish with sliced chilies.
Hands on: 15 minutes
Total time: 1 hour, 20 minutes
Serves: 6-8
¼ cup unsalted butter
1 cup diced sweet onion
½ cup diced green bell pepper
½ cup diced celery
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 16-ounce bag fresh collards
3 cups chicken stock
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
½ teaspoon soy sauce
2 teaspoons red pepper flakes (optional)
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
Tabasco sauce (optional)
1 cup peanut butter, smooth or crunchy
2 red chili peppers, sliced (optional)
Melt butter in a 4-quart saucepan or a large stockpot over medium heat. Add onion, bell pepper, celery and garlic. Sauté until vegetables are translucent. Add collards, chicken stock, salt, Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce and red pepper flakes (if using). Bring vegetables to a steady simmer. Reduce heat to medium low, cover, and cook until greens are tender and lose their bright green color, about 1 hour. Taste broth for seasonings and adjust for salt. Add black pepper and optional Tabasco sauce to taste.
Remove from heat and stir in peanut butter to make a sauce. Place on a serving platter or bowl; garnish with sliced chili peppers, if desired, and serve.
Per serving, based on 6: 389 calories (percent of calories from fat, 66), 15 grams protein, 20 grams carbohydrates, 6 grams fiber, 30 grams fat (9 grams saturated), 21 milligrams cholesterol, 1,978 milligrams sodium.
South Carolina Sweet Potato Pie
Hands on: 10 minutes
Total time: 1 hour, 10 minutes
Serves: 8 (8 large slices)
2 ¼ cups mashed sweet potatoes (about four large sweet potatoes)
½ cup unsalted butter
1½ cups granulated sugar
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
2 eggs, beaten
1 (5-ounce) can evaporated milk
2 (9-inch) unbaked pie shells
Whipped cream (optional)
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
In a large mixing bowl, combine sweet potatoes and butter until well blended. Add granulated sugar, flour, salt, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves to the mixture, and beat well. Add eggs and evaporated milk, and continue mixing until smooth.
Pour half of the filling into each pie shell. Place on a baking tray or cookie sheet, and bake for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 300 degrees and bake until filling is firm, about 50 minutes to 1 hour. Cool before slicing. Serve with optional whipped cream.
Per serving: 575 calories (percent of calories from fat, 41), 7 grams protein, 79 grams carbohydrates, 3 grams fiber, 26 grams fat (12 grams saturated), 89 milligrams cholesterol, 523 milligrams sodium.
— Recipes adapted from “The Food, Folklore, and Art of Lowcountry Cooking” by Joseph E. Dabney (Cumberland House, $29.99)
About the Author
The Latest
Featured
