“Do you have a chocolate pie for us?”
Lucy Phillips tends to hear that question a lot from one or the other of her six grandchildren, or their parents. The dessert made with a recipe passed down from Phillips’ mother is a family favorite. Lucy — or “Oosie,” as the grandkids call her — has taught several of the “grand girls” to make it. Soon, though, she will make it for the 54th annual Country Store Bake Sale in Columbus. Phillips and her daughter, Lisa Kerby, are among the many good cooks donating sweet and savory specialties for the Nov. 25 fundraiser in support of the historic Stephen D. Lee Home.
Area hosts have long had the Tuesday before Thanksgiving circled in red. That’s the day the Association for the Preservation of Antiquities in Columbus and Lowndes County always presents the Country Store. Eager shoppers will queue up at the Lee Home at 316 Seventh St. N., anxious for doors to open at 10 a.m. Many will line up according to numbers they picked up earlier that morning, beginning at 8 a.m. The early birds like first picks of homemade cakes, cookies, pies, candies, breads, cheese straws, jellies and relishes for their holiday tables. The sale goes until noon, if goodies last. There are years, however, when it has sold out in the first hour.
“It’s a wonderful effort on the part of the community to help the Lee Home,” said Phillips. “People are so busy during the holidays and don’t have time to do a lot of baking and making extra for company. That’s where the Country Store comes in.”
Chocolate and cornbread
The eldest of seven children, Phillips loved to cook, especially the family chocolate pie recipe.
“The secret to it is not necessarily the ingredients — it’s not letting the spoon leave the boiler,” Phillips emphasized. If ever there was a recipe that meant “stir constantly” seriously, it’s this one. “You turn your back to answer the phone and it’ll be burned,” she cautioned.
“Mama has taught all the grand girls to make that chocolate pie. Her saying is, ‘Never quit stirring!'” laughed daughter Lisa. Both mother and daughter are members of the antiquities association. Lisa is on the Country Store planning committee this year.
Besides the Country Store, another autumn tradition for Phillips and Kerby is making cornbread dressing.
“The dressing is something Mama and I make together every year, a huge container of it,” said Kerby. “I make one for my garden club, the Vine and Olive charity auction held each fall. We make one each for our families and then one or two for any friends who might need some holiday cooking help.”
There is also a hot water cornbread that Kerby describes as “absolutely sinful.”
“This is a recipe I have taught my granddaughter Mary Douglass Kerby to make, and she’s mastered it!” praised Phillips. Kerby adds her own twist to it: scooping out the inside to add a filling of black-eyed peas. “And it goes so well with a farmers’ market vegetable dinner in summertime,” she said.
The recipes are included in today’s food pages, along with Lisa’s “trash” snack mix, an addictive treat that freezes well and travels well. It’s a good snack to have on hand when unexpected guests pop in.
When it comes to recipes, Phillips enjoys getting creative. “I’ve always said make the recipe and then do your own changes. I’m not afraid to adapt them; that’s the fun of being in the kitchen.”
Ready to shop
Like most of the contributing cooks, Phillips and Kerby are Country Store shoppers as well. “I like to get a good cake to put in the freezer for the holidays,” said Phillips. “You run out of time to make those good cakes, and you know they’re good or they wouldn’t be at the sale.”
Proceeds of the sale, which is chaired by Katy Waters, help the Stephen D. Lee Foundation maintain the circa 1847 landmark house that was once the home of CSA Gen. Stephen D. Lee. Lee was the first president of what is now Mississippi State University and helped develop the Vicksburg National Military Park.
“We’re trying to raise enough money to build a wheelchair ramp,” said Rita Douglass, current president of the antiquities association. “We appreciate the tremendous response from the community. We’d love to have even more participants. Anybody who wants to bake something to contribute can bring it to the Lee Home Nov. 25 beginning at 8 a.m. Betty Waters and Linda Scarbrough wrap everything and make it really pretty.”
A centerpiece floral arrangement by Mildred Austin will be raffled at the sale; tickets are $1, Douglass added. The Florence McLeod Hazard Museum in the Lee Home will be open for touring from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m.
For more information, contact Douglass at 662-327-3193.
“So many people really love the Lee Home, and they want to see it thrive,” said Kerby. “You can tell — this many people coming together for a cause like this shows how much.”
LUCY’S CHOCOLATE CREAM PIE
1 8-inch pie shell (homemade or bought)
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/3 cup cocoa
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups milk
2 egg yolks, slightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 teaspoons butter
CORNBREAD DRESSING
Serves 24
Cornbread (9-by-13-inch pan); prepare a day ahead
10 pieces of day-old bread broken into pieces
5 large stalks celery, chopped in a food processor
3 large onions, chopped in a food processor
1/2 bag of baby carrots, finely chopped in a food processor
4 eggs, beaten
1/2 teaspoon sage (Hint: A little sage goes a long way)
2 teaspoons poultry seasoning
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 8-ounce cans chicken broth
3 cans cream chicken soup
3 cans cream mushroom soup
1 can chicken and rice soup (may be needed; see below)
Salt, to taste
(Source: Lucy Phillips and Lisa Kerby)
HOT WATER CORNBREAD
2 cups self rising cornmeal
2 tablespoons self rising flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar (optional)
About 3 cups boiling water
(Source: Lucy Phillips, handed down from her Grandmother Stinson)
LISA’S ‘TRASH’ SNACK MIX
1 box oat squares cereal
1 box rice chex blend cereal
1 box oyster crackers
1 sack small pretzels
1 can roasted almonds
1 sack of Bugles (original)
1 box shredded wheat squares
To be microwaved:
2 regular-size envelopes ranch dressing mix
1 teaspoon lemon pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
2 tablespoons dill weed
1 cup canola or vegetable oil
(Source: Lisa Kerby)
Jan Swoope is the Lifestyles Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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