This is a GREAT cookbook, Harper Lee even wrote a beautiful introduction calling it a testament to a stubborn people of proud and poignant heritage. These are folks that came up with potato chip sandwiches, broiled squirrel, soda cracker and mock pecan pies. There are several other "mock" dishes in here because they had to make do with what they had in the cupboard. Grapenuts take the place of pecans and hamburger substitutes for "cooter", I had to look that up myself. It might be mock but it was tasty. So this book is near and dear to me, I haven't always lived in the frozen North, I'm a Kansas, Missouri and Illinois girl at heart. Also after reading this cookbook I realize I have many White Trash tendencies that show themselves from time to time. Let's start with my unusual given name, Minda Ruth, there it is right on page 20 "Minda Lynn's Cold Potato Salad". That's one of my very favorite foods, I eat it for breakfast if it's in the house, and here's another Minda that loves it too. I feel such a bond with her and it's scary, our recipes are almost identical except she uses large sour pickles when everyone knows only tiny sweet gherkins should be included.
Then there's other recipes, Impossible Pie page 110, why that's a fancy company dessert where I come from. I even have my mother's hand written instructions for it, what a treasure, laminated so it can be passed down to future generations (see photo). Note it calls for oleo not that expensive butter stuff. Also they have Ambrosia, we called it Goop, served over store bought angel food cake, heavenly! When I was growing up, we had one elegant chicken casserole dish that was served only for honored guests, the extra special sauce that accompanied it was made from a can of Cream of Chicken soup. My mouth is watering just remembering it and I keep two cans of the soup at ready at all times, green bean casserole need I say more.
This is what really amazed me, in the book they have a picture of the interior of a typical refrigerator in a White Trash home, it's like looking in a mirror or my ice box, yes I still call it an ice box. Can you tell which is which, see photos and click? Hint, mine has more BBQ sauce (more about this in future posts). Look closely and you'll also see Pillsbury unroll pie crust and ready to bake cookies, a Hickory Farms cheese ball, Smuckers Jam and bacon bits in a bag. All the things a modern White Trash home should stock. Okay I do have mock champagne and wasabi but those have been acquired tastes and are mainly for show. So I'm White Trash and proud of it, I wonder if that's Minda on the cover! Cookbook #5 is White Trash Cooking by Matthew Mickler.
