Down Home Dishes With Trisha Yearwood

The Country Singer Cooks Up A Fourth Of July Feast With Country Flavor

(CBS) 
RECIPE: Easy Baked Beans

"I serve baked beans with everything from hot dogs to barbecued chicken," says Yearwood. "They are a great side dish, and the bacon, molasses, and brown sugar in this version make them irresistible."

Ingredients:

1 pound bacon
1 large onion, such as Vidalia, finely chopped
4 15-ounce cans pork and beans
1/2 cup dark molasses
1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
2 tablespoons prepared yellow mustard

Preheat the oven to 350ºF.

Fry the bacon in a large skillet over medium-high heat until crisp. Remove the bacon from the pan, leaving the drippings, and drain it on paper towels. Crumble and set aside.

Pour out and discard all but 4 tablespoons of the bacon drippings. Add the onion to the pan and sauté until softened, about 7 minutes. Stir in the beans, molasses, sugar, mustard, and bacon, and mix well.

Pour the beans into a 3-quart casserole and bake, uncovered, for 45 minutes.

RECIPE: Home-Churned Ice Cream

"When we were children, we never made homemade ice cream unless we had company," Yearwood says. "I'm not sure if it was because we were being sociable or if it was because we needed help with the old hand churn. After working that hard, you definitely deserved a big bowl of ice cream! Daddy always added fresh peaches to this recipe because he loved homemade peach ice cream. Feel free to experiment with a fruit you love. I usually make it plain, then put out bowls of peaches, strawberries, bananas, nuts, and chocolate syrup so my guests can top it as they please."

Ingredients:

2 recipes Boiled Custard, chilled (recipe below)
1 pint fresh fruit, such as fresh Georgia peaches, peeled, pitted, and mashed
6 cups whole milk
20 pounds crushed ice
3 pounds rock salt

Wash the can, lid, and dasher of a tall 1-gallon electric or hand-cranked ice cream churn with hot soapy water. Rinse with cool water. In a bowl, mix the custard with the fruit. Set the dasher into the freezer can and pour in the fruit and custard. Add milk to within 3 inches of the top of the can or to the fill line marked on your freezer can. Put the lid on the can and place it in the freezer pail, making sure to center the can on the raised can rest in the bottom. Put several handfuls of ice around the can to hold it upright. Attach the motor or hand crank.

Start the motor of an electric churn and begin packing the space around the can with ice and salt, starting with about 4 inches ice and then adding about 4 ounces (1/2 cup) rock salt. Continue adding ice and salt to this manner until the ice reaches the top but does not cover the top of the can. Add 1 cup cold water to help the ice begin to melt. The freezer pail should be placed in a large pan or sink so the salt water that drains out does not damage surfaces. Make sure the drainage hole stays open.

Freezing takes 20 to 30 minutes. Add more ice and salt as needed. An electric churn will stop when the ice cream is frozen. If the motor stalls too soon, unplug it and check to be sure no ice is caught between the bottom of the can and the freezer. Do this by using your hands to force the can to turn and then restart the churn. A hand churn takes about the same amount of time; you will know it is frozen when the churn becomes very difficult to turn.

Wipe away any ice and salt from the lid of the can and carefully remove the lid. Pushing down on the can, carefully pull out the dasher, scraping any clinging ice cream back into the can. At this stage, the ice cream is soft. Put the provided cork stopper into the hole in the lid and replace the lid.

Harden the ice cream by adding more ice and salt to the freezer bucket, completely covering the can and securely corked lid. Cover the freezer with a heavy towel or newspaper layers and store the churn in a cool place until ready to serve. If you are not serving the ice cream within 1 hour, remove the towel and pack more ice and salt in the freezer pail. Dispose of the salt water in an area away from grass or plants. Scrub and rinse the pail thoroughly to avoid rust.

RECIPE: Boiled Custard

Boiled custard is a southern tradition that has been used for centuries in recipes like banana pudding, pies, and homemade ice cream. It adds the richness and flavor of a pastry cream to every recipe it's used in, but it's not as thick.

Ingredients:

2 cups whole milk
6 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch or 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
Pinch of salt
2 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Heat 1 1/2 cups of the milk in a double boiler until a skim forms (just before boiling) on the top of the milk.

Sift together the sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a mixing bowl. Stir in the remaining 1/2 cup milk.

Beat the eggs in a small bowl. Whisking constantly, slowly stream 1/4 cup hot milk into the eggs.

Slowly pour the egg-milk mixture back into the double boiler, whisking constantly to prevent lumps. Stir in the sugar mixture and continue cooking the custard until it thickens, about 15 minutes, stirring constantly (see Note). Stir in the vanilla.

Note: Combining hot milk and eggs is a delicate process, and lumps may appear even if you are very careful. If lumps do appear, strain the custard through a fine sieve.

[wakeup60]

Way to go "Trisha"...your mom & sister ... much success with your cookbook...! Will be purchasing a copy for myself and one for my best friend for a Christmas Present...I''m an Okie myself but have lived in Texas most of my life...I know Garth is thrilled for you and your success as a down home cookbook writer as well as a great cook for your family and friends...So happy for you and your beautiful marriage to the LOVE OF YOUR LIFE! "YOU ARE HIS"....THAT''S SO EASY TO SEE AND FEEL...HE BEAMS!
SO GLAD YOU ARE BOTH SO HAPPY!