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In The Kitchen With Billie Hayes

By Now_Staff • on February 1, 2010

Growing up on a big farm and being the
youngest of five children kept Billie Hayes
too busy to help in the kitchen. “Momma
never called on me much to help in the
kitchen,” she recalled. “The older ones
acted like they knew more than I did, so I
went out and played with my animals. That
was my favorite thing to do!”

Billie learned her cooking skills by
taking home economics in high school and
through trial and error for over 62 years of
marriage to her husband, Ralph. She enjoys
painting, knitting, reading and attending
the First Baptist Church the past 53 years.
She gets her recipes from the cookbooks
she has collected. “I have a lot of recipes,”
she said. “Every time we have ever been on
a trip, I bought a cookbook.”

SWEET POTATO PIE

1 1/2 cups sweet potatoes, peeled and mashed
1 12-oz. can evaporated milk
1 cup sugar
3 lg. eggs
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
Dash cinnamon
Dash salt
9-inch piecrust
1. Heat oven to 350 F.
2. In a large bowl, combine all ingredients,
except piecrust. Mix until well blended, but
do not over mix.
3. Pour into crust. Bake for 50 minutes or
until knife inserted in middle comes out
clean.

FRIED GREEN TOMATOES

1 lg. egg, slightly beaten
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup flour, divided use
1/2 cup cornmeal
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
3 med. green tomatoes, cut in 1/2-inch slices
Vegetable oil
Salt, to taste
1. Combine egg and buttermilk; set aside.
2. Combine 1/4 cup flour, cornmeal salt
and pepper in a shallow bowl or pan.
3. Dredge tomato slices in remaining 1/4
cup flour. Next dip them into the buttermilk
mixture and then into the cornmeal
mixture.
4. Pour 1/4 to 1/2 inch of oil into a large
cast-iron skillet. Heat to 375 F.
5. In batches, drop tomatoes in hot oil;
cook on each side until golden. Drain on
a paper towels or on a rack. Sprinkle with
salt to taste.

CRACKLIN’ CORN BREAD

1 1/2 cups cornmeal
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 lg. egg, slightly beaten
2 cups buttermilk
1 cup cracklings
1. In a large bowl, combine first four
ingredients.
2. Add the egg and buttermilk, stirring just
until dry ingredients are moistened. Stir in
cracklings.
3. Generously grease a 10-inch cast-iron
skillet with shortening. Place skillet in an
oven at 450 F for 4 minutes until hot.
4. Remove skillet from oven and pour
batter into the hot skillet.
5. Bake in 450 F oven for 25 minutes or
until golden brown.