Vivid colors in the African-American theme prevailed in the fellowship hall of Lovell Chapel United Methodist Church Sunday afternoon as members gathered in Pilot Mountain to celebrate Black History Month.

Barbara Penn East, a former Mount Airy resident, was in charge of the luncheon that featured tables of homemade meat dishes, fresh vegetables, salads and an array of desserts.

Assisting East with some of the display dishes were Linda Thompson and Stella Hatcher. Others working in the kitchen included Brenda Joyce Thompson preparing creamed corn and Mary Taylor with a dish of collard greens. Gubie Jean Hickman’s cabbage was served with Deborah Siler’s tasty pig’s feet and Sybil Chattman’s old-fashioned hog jowl was great with cornbread.

The Rev. Cornelius Holland, church pastor, brought ham shank that tasted good with Yvonne Lovell’s savory cole slaw and deviled eggs and Cyralene Foster’s refreshing vegetable tray.

The desserts filled a long table covered in a red cloth with a print overlay. Folks feasted on Barbara East’s Upside Down Cake, Prelette Tillman’s Loaded Chocolate Pound Cake, Mildred East’s Pound Cake, Rebecca Hampton’s Brown Sugar Pie and Stella Hatcher’s Lemonade Pie. Linda Thompson furnished the Surprise Punch.

While placing food dishes on the tables, East commented on the wonderful church cooks and how they had helped pull the celebration together.

She added, “I love to cook and I’m not afraid to try anything new. Most of my cooking for large groups has been prepared with my daughters. God has blessed me with many opportunities to prepare food. My mother, Annie Penn, taught all of her 14 children to cook; therefore, I had many opportunities to try my luck.”

East began working with food at J.J. Jones School Cafeteria while in high school and at Winston-Salem Teacher’s College. She later became the cafeteria manager at J.J. Jones School and served there 12 years.

Her career changed directions when she became the supervisor of Family Services Child Development Divisions’ Nutrition and Health Education in Winston-Salem. As director of Surry County Child Development Center in Mount Airy, our featured cook was responsible for maintaining a well-balanced meal for students.

Assisted by Prelette Tillman, East made old-fashioned blackberry, strawberry, peach, apple and sweet potato cobblers for Pilot Mountain’s 100th Year Celebration. With the assistance of the church women, East began making the cobblers for the Pilot Mountain Mayfest. Although she has given up her job making cobblers, the other church ladies continue supplying the town with the old-fashioned desserts.

Here are Barbara’s recipes for Beef Barbecue Ribs, Candied Sweet Potatoes, Collards, Honey Baked Apples and Pineapple Upside Down Cake.

Beef Barbecue Ribs

3 full racks of beef ribs

1 bottle of Italian salad dressing

2 large bottles Jack Daniel’s barbecue sauce

(optional extra bottle of barbecue sauce for extra sauce)

In large container place ribs and pour salad dressing over ribs. Cover and marinade for three hours. In large oven roasting pan, place ribs and pour two bottles of barbecue sauce on ribs. Cover with lid or cover with foil. Bake at 325 degrees for two to three hours. Check after two hours and add additional sauce if desired.

Candied Sweet Potatoes

6 medium sweet potatoes

2 cups granulated sugar

1 cup light brown sugar

1 stick Mrs. Filbert’s margarine (melted)

2 tablespoons flour

2 tablespoons orange or squeezed fresh oranges

1/4 cup water

Scrub potatoes well with brush and rinse thoroughly. Place in large pot, cover with water and cook potatoes until tender. Remove from stove and drain off water. Carefully lay potatoes on a baking sheet to prevent them from smashing and allow cooling for 15 minutes. Mix dry ingredients together in large bowl. Melt margarine and have this ready. Spray casserole dish with nonstick, gently peel first potato and begin covering bottom of pan. After the bottom is covered, layer with dry ingredient mixture. Sprinkle with orange juice and pour over margarine. Continue to layer with potatoes and dry ingredient mixture with juice and margarine. Make sure you finish the layer with the dry ingredients. Pour water over the finished layers to soften the sugar. Bake in preheated oven at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until potatoes begin to candy. Important: Baste potatoes in their own juice about every 15 minutes or until done. This will prevent sugar on top from crystallizing.

Collards

3 bunches collards

1/2 stick Mrs. Filbert’s margarine

1/4 cup Wesson corn oil

1 teaspoon seasoned salt

1 tablespoon table salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

1 medium onion (cubed)

Optional: 1 teaspoon ground red pepper

Remove collards from stalk, place on cutting board, stack leaves, roll together and cut across for desired size. Place collards in large bowl and pour on salt generously to help clean. Fill bowl with water, drain and repeat twice. Place clean collards in large pot, add water and boil for 3 minutes, drain. Put drained collards into another pot with 1/3 pot of water, and all ingredients. Boil for 2 to 4 hours or until tender. Optional: Add more salt to taste. Serves 6 to 8 people.

Honey Baked Apples

6 large apples

1 cup honey

1 tablespoon butter

1 teaspoon red food coloring

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Wash apples, peel and quarter. Spray baking dish with non-stick oil. Place apples in baking dish. In nonstick saucepan, combine honey and red food coloring on medium heat stirring continuously until the two are mixed. Pour over apples; cook for 30 minutes or until tender.

Cornbread Fritters

1 cup corn meal (white self-rising)

1/4 cup flour

1 tablespoon granulated sugar or 1 pack of Sweet and Low

1/2 small onion (finely chopped)

1/2 cup milk (add more or less as needed)

Corn oil for frying fritters

Batter should be well mixed and thick. Place corn meal in bowl, add dry ingredients, chopped onions, corn meal, and mix together. Add milk to desired thickness.

Place fry pan on medium heat until oil begins to heat. Spoon drop batter into oil and turn fritter when brown on the other side. Brown the fritters on the other side. Remove from oil and drain on paper towel. Repeat until all batter has been used.

Pineapple Upside Down Pound Cake

3 1/2 cups Swan’s Cake flour

3 cups granulated sugar

5 eggs

2 sticks Mrs. Filbert’s stick margarine

1 cup Crisco

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla flavoring

1 cup milk

Upside down cake topping:

1 can whole pineapple slices

2 cups light brown sugar

2 sticks Mrs. Filbert’s margarine

1 jar red maraschino cherries

1 large sheet of parchment paper

Topping:

Spray the sides of a 11x14-inch baking pan with Baker's spray. Place 1 sheet of parchment paper in pan (do not spray bottom of pan). Paper will cover bottom and small portion of sides. Melt 2 sticks of Mrs. Filberts margarine and pour into baking pan. Spread brown sugar over margarine. Drain pineapple and place on top of brown sugar. Drain cherries and place one in each pineapple. (Wax paper may be used instead of parchment paper.)

Pound cake:

In mixer, cream Crisco and butter together well. Add sugar and continue mixing. Add one egg at a time into creamed mixture. Put flavoring in milk. Begin adding flour, and then alternate with milk and flour, making flour the last ingredient. Make sure ingredients are mixed well. Pour cake into baking dish. Place in cold oven and bake at 325 degrees for 45 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let cake sit for 5 minutes. Loosen cake from sides of the pan. Turn cake out on a large baking sheet with sides to catch glaze. Serve hot or cold.

Yvonne Lovell brought some of her favorite dishes, Beef Pie, Cole Slaw and Deviled Eggs. Here are two of her recipes.

Yvonne’s Beef Pie

1 pound stew beef

1 onion sliced

1 heaping tablespoon cornstarch (heaping)

Salt

Pepper

Butter

Pillsbury Pie Crust

Brown beef in a pot, salt and pepper to taste while brown. Add sliced onion and after browning, add enough water to cover beef. Cook until tender.

Place crust in baking dish. Cut crust to fit baking dish. Save enough crust for the top of pie. Pour well-done beef over crust and dart with butter. Place remaining crust over beef and press top sides with a fork or fingers to press edges together. Make small holes in top of crust with a fork. Add small amount of butter on top of crust. Bake at 325 degrees until brown.

Cole Slaw

3-pound bag grated cabbage or 1 large 3-pound cabbage, grated

1 sweet onion, grated

1 green bell pepper, grated

1 red bell pepper, grated

2 cups granulated sugar

2 cups vinegar

1 tablespoon salt

2 cups water

Put 2 cups water in a pot and place on stove. Add sugar and vinegar. Bring mixture to boil. Remove mixture from heat and let cool completely. You will need a large bowl with a top. Place grated cabbage, onions, green pepper and red pepper in the bowl, and spread salt and pepper evenly over shredded ingredients. Pour vinegar-sugar water over slaw, stir. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes. This will last one month.



Stella Hatcher shares her recipe for Chocolate Chocolate Cake.

Chocolate Chocolate Cake

3 cups sugar

2 sticks margarine

1/2 cup Crisco

6 eggs

3 cups cake flour

1 cup milk

4 heaping tablespoons Hershey Cocoa

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla flavoring

Sift flour, cocoa, soda and salt together and set aside. Cream in mixing bowl the margarine, Crisco and sugar. Add eggs one at a time. Add flour mixture to creamed mixture alternating with milk and flavoring. Spray Pam in tube cake pan and pour batter in pan. Bake for one hour at 350 degrees.

Chocolate Icing:

1 stick margarine

3-ounce package cream cheese

1-pound box confectioners sugar

2 to 3 tablespoons milk

1 teaspoon vanilla flavoring

1/2 teaspoon lemon flavoring

Mix margarine and cream cheese together. Sift cocoa and sugar together, add to creamy mixture. Add milk and flavoring to icing mixture and blend until smooth.

Contact Eleanor Powell at epowell@mtairynews.com or call 719-1933.