Mary Ellen Slayter's Recipes

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At the Table

Photo by Wade Cowart; Mary Ellen Slayter making tomato gravy.

By Wade Cowart

You know, it's the cast iron skillet that makes everything taste so good.

What's Cooking

The culinary education I got growing up was pretty mixed. Summers on my great-grandparents' farm in Dry Prong, La., meant lots of fresh produce, dairy and eggs. We were organic before organic was cool, I suppose. Life in town wasn't so great, though. We were pretty much always poor, and so dinner was more likely to comprise chopped up hot dogs mixed in with macaroni and cheese than some stereotypical grand Southern cuisine. Still, there were highlights, like my Mamaw Inez's buttermilk biscuits and my mom's tomato gravy.

I cook most of my meals these days. It doesn't take a lot of effort (or expense) to cook good, everyday food consistently. Here are a couple of standbys, borrowed straight from my favorite Louisiana cooks, my grandmother and my mother.

Mamaw Inez's Buttermilk Biscuits

2 cups buttermilk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
4 cups self-rising flour
1/2 cup melted butter

Preheat oven to 400 degree. Brush half of the melted butter across the bottom of a 9-by-13 inch pan. Mix buttermilk, vegetable oil and 3 cups of the flour. Turn the dough out on a floured surface and knead until thick but pliable, working in up to a cup of flour as needed. Roll dough out to about 3/4 inch thick, and cut out 12 biscuits using a biscuit cutter. (A coffee cup will also cut the right size circle.) Place biscuits in the pan, and brush the tops with the remaining butter. Bake until tops are browned, 30 to 45 minutes.

Donna's Tomato Gravy

1 medium yellow onion, chopped
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 medium bell pepper, chopped
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 28-ounce can of diced tomatoes
1/2 cup broth (chicken or vegetable) or water
Salt and pepper, to taste (or Tony Chachere's seasoning, if you've got it)

In a skillet at least two inches deep, saute onion and bell pepper in oil until soft. Stir in flour, heating until browned. Add tomatoes. and broth. Stir well and let simmer for about 15 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot on top of a split biscuit.