Blue Ridge Country September/October 2020 - 62

F L AV O R S

HERALDING THE COMING OF FALL

Time-Tested Recipes from an
East Tennessee Kitchen
Text and photos by FRED & JILL SAUCEMAN

his year, recipes from family and friends have been more precious to us than ever. Here are four we have
collected over the years that we believe are perfect for the fall season.

Homemade Salami

Carrots with Horseradish Sauce

Trula Bailey's Sweet Potatoes

We were given this recipe when we
lived in Roane County, Tennessee, west
of Knoxville. Rolls of this salami make
great Christmas gifts, along with a jar
of spicy mustard.

We first tasted this casserole at the
Trustees' House, built in 1841, in
the Shaker community of Pleasant
Hill, Kentucky. A celebration of root
vegetables, it has become a mainstay
on our Thanksgiving table and
sometimes at Christmas as well.

Trula Bailey was one of the best cooks
we've ever known. Born in Vonore,
Tennessee, in 1910, she worked for
Fred's uncle and aunt in Athens,
Tennessee, for over 50 years, beginning
in 1935. Several years before her
death in 2002, we sat Trula down
and talked food, documenting her
recipes that otherwise would never
have been written down. This is one of
them. True to her Tennessee heritage,
Trula always used Jack Daniel's Sour
Mash Whiskey. On occasion, we
have substituted Amaretto. We think
Trula would have appreciated the
innovation.

5 pounds ground chuck
4 teaspoons garlic salt
4 teaspoons hickory salt
4 teaspoons yellow mustard seeds
4 teaspoons cracked black pepper
5 teaspoons Morton Tender meat
cure
Mix everything well in a large bowl with
your rubber-gloved hands. Refrigerate
in a covered container for three days,
kneading well each night. We suppose
you could knead in the morning, too,
but the original recipe specifies a night
knead, so we comply. Roll the mixture
into small rolls. This should make
five or six. Bake at 150 degrees for
eight hours. Yes, you read it right. This
freezes very well.

6 medium-size carrots, trimmed,
peeled, split lengthwise, and then
cut crosswise into pieces about 2
inches long
3 tablespoons prepared
horseradish (Gold's is a good brand,
first bottled in Brooklyn in 1932)
Half a small onion, grated, and
liquid squeezed out
Salt and pepper to taste
½ cup mayonnaise (We prefer
Duke's)
2 tablespoons butter, melted
Ritz cracker crumbs-as much as
the butter will absorb
½ teaspoon Hungarian paprika
Boil the carrots until tender and save
about ¼ cup of the cooking liquid.
Place carrots in a greased shallow baking dish. Mix horseradish, onion, carrot
water, salt and pepper, and mayonnaise. Pour this mixture over the carrots. Mix butter and cracker crumbs;
add paprika. Sprinkle over carrot
mixture. Bake at 375 degrees until hot
and bubbly, about half an hour.

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2 medium to large red sweet
potatoes, a little shy of two pounds
total
½ cup sugar
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons milk
¼ cup Jack Daniel's or Amaretto
Miniature marshmallows
Boil the sweet potatoes in water until
they are quite soft. Cool them, remove
the skin and place the sweet potatoes in a food processor. Add sugar,
butter, milk and whiskey or Amaretto.
Blend until light and fluffy. Pour into a
greased casserole and top generously
with marshmallows. Bake at 350 degrees until hot and the marshmallows
begin to melt and to brown.

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Blue Ridge Country September/October 2020

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