Cider Beans, Wild Greens, and Dandelion Jelly

Recipes from Southern Appalachia

by Joan E. Aller

Price: $27.99
ISBN-13: 978-0-7407-7958-9
ISBN-10: 0-7407-7958-3
Format: Hardcover
Size: 8 x 9 in.
Page Count: 224 pages

“Just as the immigrants adapted the music from their homeland, they also adapted their cooking and created a food culture based on what was available to them in their Appalachian mountain settlements. Cider Beans, Wild Greens, and Dandelion Jelly by Joan Aller celebrates the food of southern Appalachia.” ––Culinaria Libris http://bit.ly/ePgcQX

“Featuring “down-home, soul-satisfying dishes,” Joan Aller’s cookbook is filled “with passages on the history, places, and people of southern Appalachia, along with lush full-color photography of the food and scenery of the southern Appalachian Mountains.”” ––Cooks & Books & Recipes http://bit.ly/c2zqOS

“Aller offers both modern and decades-old recipes — more than 100 in all. The recipes and accompanying photos will inspire you to create everything from Possum Trot Cowboy Gravy to Orange Flower Tea Cakes. But the real treasure is what you’ll learn about southern Appalachia culture and heritage” ––TimesDaily.com http://bit.ly/b66cxo

“In her latest cookbook, Cider Beans, Wild Greens, and Dandelion Jelly, Aller presents a taste of southern hospitality in the form of traditional Appalachian recipes that she has collected from inns, small-town restaurants and families throughout the region. Aller includes traditional and unique recipes for every meal of the day, as well as desserts, beverages and country store favorites that recall memories of simple, home-cooked food.” ––BlueRidgeCounty.com http://bit.ly/cMveJh

“[Joan Aller's] new cookbook, “Cider Beans, Wild Greens and Dandelion Jelly“  is not only a collection of Southern Appalachian recipes, but an account of the rural traditions of North Carolina, South Carolina, Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Kentucky, Virginia and Tennessee.” ––The Sarasota Herald Tribune http://bit.ly/b3W0WV

“It was love at first site. I mean how can you not be smitten by a cookbook entitled: Cider Beans, Wild Greens and Dandelion Jelly? This fine work, subtitled Recipes from Southern Appalachia, may take some liberties, I see a number of delicious looking Cajun influenced recipes sneaking in here, but it’s certainly a fun read.  The book features several beautiful pictures of this wonderful and still wild span of States, as well as a short but engaging history of the settlement of the region, but the meat of the book, no pun intended, is, of course, the set of classic recipes, sourced from some of the area’s finest restaurants and inns.  There is also a great appendix resource in the book that not only lists all of those restaurants, (road trip anyone?) but also offers sources for some of the typical ingredients used in Appalachian cooking” ––Snooth http://www.snooth.com/articles/wine-and-food/appalachian-cooking/

“Joan Aller’s “Cider Beans, Wild Greens and Dandelion Jelly” tackles the foods of southern Appalachia with credit to the native and immigrant cultures that spawned them.” ––Associated Press

“Cider Beans, Wild Greens, and Dandelion Jelly by Joan E. Aller. This cookbook is more than just a collection of recipes, through its lush photography and stores that document the history, people, and places in the region, it takes readers into the very heart of southern Appalachia.” ––Tucson Citizen http://tucsoncitizen.com/cooking/2010/08/17/new-cookbook-features-tasty-recipes-from-southern-appalachia/

““Cider Beans, Wild Greens, and Dandelion Jelly,” by Joan E. Aller, includes more than 100 recipes, many accompanied with images and stories, for dishes made with foods prized by the people of southern Appalachia.” ––Bluffton Today http://www.npaper-wehaa.com/bluffton-today/2010/08/10/#?article=969398

“Joan Aller’s cookbook Cider Beans, Wild Greens, and Dandelion Jelly: Recipes from Southern Appalachia reminds me of the way my grandparents cooked when I was coming up.” … So, if you’re looking for a nice introduction to Southern cuisine, or Southern Appalachia cuisine in particular, with all the history and folklore that goes along with it, then this book is for you.” ––Project Foodie http://bit.ly/9jSsUG

“”Cider Beans, Wild Greens, and Dandelion Jelly: Recipes From Southern Appalachia” by Joan E. Aller: Some of the dishes in this irresistibly titled book date to the 1800s. The inclusion of a Southern Appalachian dictionary shows it doesn’t take itself too seriously. A map of the eight states is a nice bonus. Worth investigating: old-fashioned root beer, corn cob jelly and an appetizer called Mississippi Sin that’s made with French bread, cream cheese, cheddar cheese, cooked ham, sour cream and a holy trinity of sweet onion, bell pepper and Worcestershire sauce.” ––NorthJersey.com http://bit.ly/9pHaOX

“In her beautiful new cookbook, Cider Beans, Wild Greens, and Dandelion Jelly, Joan E. Aller, an artist and Tennessee dweller, lovingly documents the foods and history of the Southern Appalachian mountain ranges she calls home. She offers grits and redeye gravy for breakfast, okra soup and Tennessee-style corn pone for lunch, and Mountain Fried Steak with Possum Trot Cowboy Gravy for dinner. Got a sweet tooth? There’s Mountain Molasses Stack Cake and George Washington Carver’s Sweet Potato Pie for dessert.” ––Cowboys and Indians http://www.cowboysindians.com/blog/post.jsp?id=1468

“Joan Aller is an artist by profession and fearless by nature. No soon had she painted her mailbox than she was off, photographing barns and bridges and learning the ways of her new neighbors. That led quickly to food — and five years of research. At the end, she had gorgeous photographs of Southern Appalachia, luscious photographs of Southern food, and 8,000 pages of recipes and history. The good news is that Ms. Aller and her editors put her work on a diet. The result is a 212-page book that was extravagantly handsome until my wife and I started dog-earing the pages. Silly us — we want to cook almost everything here.” ––Huffington Post http://huff.to/9AR2Ul

“Some of the dishes in this irresistibly titled book date to the 1800s. The inclusion of a southern Appalachian dictionary shows it doesn’t take itself too seriously. A map of the eight states is a nice bonus. Worth investigating: old-fashioned root beer, corn cob jelly and and an appetizer called Mississippi Sin that’s made with French bread, cream cheese, cheddar cheese, cooked ham, sour cream and a holy trinity of sweet onion, bell pepper and Worcestershire sauce. ” ––The Washington Post http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2010/06/15/ST2010061504657.html

“[Joan Aller] set out to document the history of [Southern Appalachia], from its landscape to its people and the food that sustained them. “It all started out very modestly. I started taking pictures of old barns and cabins and talking to people in the area. Then I started researching the different cultures that were here,” she said. The result of her work — which took five years from research to publication — was 8,000 pages of history and recipes that she and publishers at Andrews McMeel culled into a 212-page book.” ––Knox News http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2010/jun/10/new-cookbook-documents-areas-food-history/

“Reading the introduction to the just-released Cider Beans, Wild Greens, and Dandelion Jelly, you might think this is going to be one of those spiral-bound potluck affairs with Xeroxed photos and hundreds of recipe contributors.  Nope. This part history/part cookbook is brought to you by a major publishing house and includes beautiful photographs taken by Aller, a California native who moved to the mountains of Eastern Tennessee several decades ago. With today’s bookstore shelves so littered with cookbooks from food celebrities, bloggers and journalists, it can be easy to forget that everyday home cooks (cooks without blogs) write great cookbooks, too. Really great cookbooks.” ––LA Weekly http://bit.ly/cwd5hc

“It’s amazing to me that a book that is supposed to be a cookbook could transport me away like this one did. But Cider Beans, Wild Greens, and Dandelion Jelly isn’t just a typical cookbook. I found myself  totally immersed in the awesome photography of the Appalachian area, and also enjoying the history of the area. I was transported back in time to the days of my grandmother’s cooking through some of the recipes. … If you add but one new book to your cookbook shelf this year, let it be this one. You will not be disappointed at all.” ––Small Town Living http://stliving.com/?p=2926

“[Cider Beans, Wild Greens, and Dandelion Jelly] is local cooking, but it’s meant to be transporting. You really get a sense of a unique place and how the food there evolved through the centuries. The author, Joan E. Aller, is an artist with a home in the Appalachian Mountains and has made this pretty much a love letter with photos, history and resources. She’s collected recipes from friends, neighbors and innkeepers for a great mix of down-home and swanky food: cowboy gravy and trout cakes with remoulade; fry bread and lemon-pepper popovers; old-fashioned root beer and grilled okra with pine nuts.” ––Epicurious http://bit.ly/b2l1G4

“Featuring more than 150 recipes for down-home, soul-satisfying dishes, Cider Beans, Wild Greens, and Dandelion Jelly is more than just a cookbook. Complete with passages on the history, places, and people of southern Appalachia, along with lush full-color photography of the food and scenery of the southern Appalachian Mountains, Cider Beans, Wild Greens, and Dandelion Jelly serves as both a cookbook and a guided tour of the local lore, traditions, and culture of this uniquely American region.” ––Banana Smoothie http://bit.ly/dcdrhV

“Each region of the nation has its own cooking traditions and is known for certain foods. Joan Aller explores the tastes and traditions of the southern Appalachia in “Cider Beans, Wild Greens, and Dandelion Jelly“. There are more than 150 recipes, including everything from breakfast to beverages, so that you can try these Appalachian traditions in your own home. … The author submerges readers in Appalachian culture by providing a history of the region with accompanying photographs. Aller includes a short summary with each recipe about how she found it.” ––News Tribune http://bit.ly/ad37k4

“In Cider Beans, Wild Greens, and Dandelion Jelly, author Joan Aller has dedicated herself to recording the recipes and the by-ways of life in the southern Appalachians.  Aller writes of the region and its food with tenderness, understanding and respect. There are no recipes from Ma and Pa Kettle in these pages, but rather recipes that have been honed through time, and that reflect the different cultural influences that have shaped them. … With authenticity, and with great love for the traditions of the area, Aller offers recipes that speak of tradition, as well as newer recipes in the ever-changing landscape of cuisine.” ––In Mamas Kitchen http://www.inmamaskitchen.com/Book_Reviews/regional_american_cookbooks/appalachia_ALLER.html

“As soon as I opened Cider Beans, Wild Greens and Dandelion Jelly Recipes of Southern Appalachia by Joan Aller I knew it was full of recipes that I had to cook this summer. … And make no mistake; these recipes are a chef’s take on country food. Aller’s recipes are fine-tuned with a simple elegance.     ––Dolce Dolce http://www.dolcedolce.com/?p=3562

“Fortunately, for all foodies and lovers of hearty food that feeds both body and soul, Joan Aller unearths a mother lode of southern Appalachian sustenance for “Cider Beans, Wild Greens, and Dandelion Jelly: Recipes from Southern Appalachia” ––Appalachain News Express http://www.news-expressky.com/articles/2010/05/19/everyday_living/01book.txt

“The author [of Cider Beans, Wild Greens, and Dandelion Jelly], Joan E. Aller, lives on a dirt road surrounded by the Appalachian mountains. She lives a life that many of us dream of. A life of simplicity, serenity and comraderie with both humans and animal life. She has researched the history of the Appalachians and has compiled many recipes from the mountain folk as well as from many Inns and Restaurants.” ––Once A Week Vegan http://7shadesofvegan.blogspot.com/2010/05/mushrooms-stuffed-with-rice-and-greens.html

Filled with more than 100 recipes guaranteed to please everyone from the urban gourmet to the most rugged of mountain men, Aller’s cookbook offers a wide range of distinct dishes from this quintessentially American region. Whether you’re looking for more familiar fare such as Southern Butter-Crusted Chicken or Old-Fashioned Southern Tea Cakes, or want something more off the beaten path such as Butternut Squash Soup with Sweet Tea and Ginger, German Bierocks, or Burgoo, this cookbook has what you’re looking for.

More than just a cookbook, Cider Beans, Wild Greens, and Dandelion Jelly takes you into the heart of southern Appalachia with passages about the history, people, and places of the area. Complete with stunning full-color photography of the unique, beautiful scenery and food the mountains have to offer, this cookbook is ideal for anyone interested in the culture and cooking of one of America’s most enchanting locales.

serves 8

This is a soul food recipe from the southern Appalachian region of northern Alabama. I think this is about as sinful as a fried chicken ought to get. It’s absolutely luscious!

2 (3-pound) fryer chickens, cut up into serving pieces
Vegetable shortening, for frying
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon paprika

Leftover Corn bread Gravy
8 ounces sliced bacon
2 cups leftover corn bread
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups water, plus more if needed
1 to 1 1/2 cups half-and-half, plus more if needed
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Wash the chicken pieces and pat them dry.

Heat shortening to a depth of 2 to 3 inches in a deep, heavy skillet over medium heat. Test the heat with a drop of water. If it spatters when it hits the hot oil, it’s ready.

In a bowl, combine the melted butter, flour, salt, and paprika. Using a pastry brush, coat each piece of chicken completely with the mixture.
Place the chicken in the hot oil and fry, turning occasionally, until the coating is golden brown and crispy and the chicken is thoroughly cooked, about 12 minutes on each side. Serve hot.

make the gravy: In a large skillet over medium heat, fry the bacon until crisp. Drain and crumble the bacon and leave the drippings in the skillet.

Put the crumbled bacon back in the skillet and crumble enough corn bread into the pan to just fill it. Add the flour and stir until the mixture browns. Be careful not to let it burn.

When the mixture is browned, slowly add the water and half-and-half until the mixture forms a gravy, adding more water or half-and-half if necessary. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve hot.

serves 5

This recipe, from the Cripple Creek Bed and Breakfast Cabins in Crockett, Virginia, was handed down from the owner’s grandmother. Cripple Creek is situated in the Blue Ridge Mountains on 35 acres of wooded hills and rolling pastures dotted with wildflowers, blackberry bushes, and apple trees. I just love blueberries, so I hope this recipe from Cripple Creek will become one of your favorites!

2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
10 slices French bread, 3/4 inch thick (preferably homemade or fresh store-bought)
2 cups fresh blueberries
Maple syrup, for serving
Confectioners’ sugar, for serving

Preheat the oven to 350°F and lightly grease a 9 by 13-inch baking dish. Beat the cream cheese, granulated sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon in a large bowl with a stand mixer on medium speed until well blended. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add the milk and mix well.

Arrange the bread in the prepared baking dish and spread the blueberries on top of the bread. Pour the cream cheese mixture over the bread. Let stand for at least 15 minutes before baking (or cover the pan and place it in the refrigerator overnight). Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, until golden brown. Serve with maple syrup and confectioners’ sugar.

makes one 8-inch layer cake

This is a traditional mountain favorite. Each family would bring a single layer to a reunion or other celebration, and the layers would be assembled into a multilayered cake or several smaller cakes. The traditional filling is apple butter. I was at a meeting a while back when someone brought this as a single layer with the filling on the top. It was so good that we all asked for the recipe.

Cake
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 large egg
1/2 cup molasses
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

Filling
2 cups finely chopped apples
1/2 cup water
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease and flour the outside bottom of two 8-inch round cake pans.

To make the cake, cream together the brown sugar and butter in a large bowl until light. Slowly add the egg and molasses and blend well. Beat in the buttermilk, vanilla, and nutmeg.

In another bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

Slowly add the flour mixture to the molasses mixture and mix until thoroughly incorporated.

Pour half of the batter into each prepared cake pan. Bake for 15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of each cake comes out clean. Let the cakes cool on their pans on a wire rack.

While the cakes are cooling, make the filling. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine the apples and water. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the apples are tender. Stir in the brown sugar and cinnamon. Bring to a boil and, stirring constantly, cook the mixture until a light syrup forms.

Place one of the cooled cake layers on a serving plate and spread half of the filling on top. Place the second layer on top, and spread the remaining filling over the top.