Simply Delish: Southern food and Rocky Road Pie

I decided to change Simply Delish up a bit this week. Rather than prepare a recipe in the T-G kitchen, I decided to put someone else in the cooking spotlight.

The person I chose was most appropriate for the assignment. I mentioned in Sadie Says, my other column, that I'm expecting my first child. I figured I'd ask my husband, Jack, to prepare me a meal. Since I'm pregnant, Jack's role now includes pampering me, right?

Jack takes great care of me, but a chef he's not -- unless that means spaghetti sauce from a jar. I will say, when Jack does take dinner duty it usually involves steaks, burgers or chicken on the grill, and that, I'll never complain about.

But for this assignment, I told Jack he had to cook something for me (no grilling allowed), and he had to provide a recipe for the T-G readers.

He quickly agreed without hesitation. When I asked him what he planned to make, he had an instant idea, which completely surprised me.

"I'm making butter beans and cornbread," he said.

Uh oh, maybe asking him to cook wasn't such a great idea. I should have picked out a recipe for him.

"Oh, great," I told him, not wanting to hurt his feelings.

But inside, I felt a bit nervous because who in the South doesn't know how to cook beans, corn-bread, and greens? Well who, anyway, besides me?

The one time I tried to cook seven bean soup on the stove top we ended up with bean mush. I thought I'd let it simmer for a couple hours but learned beans require a lot of water! Cornbread for me means sweet corn mix from Jiffy. And turnip greens ... I'd rather make a salad.

But then I realized this would be a great idea. I do not know how to cook Southern food ... so surely, I thought, there must be a few other foreigners out there who are not experts in the cornbread and beans department. Jack could cook and I could learn!

When cook day came, my nerves returned. Some men just don't belong in the kitchen. While many women tend to find relief in the kitchen, many men find stress. Where's the skillet (on the stove top, right in front of you), where's me a big spoon (in the drawer where all the other utensils are), where's a big bowl for the corn bread, where should I plug the slow cooker in, where's the pepper sauce for the greens?

What I thought would be a pampering experience turned into me taking on a new job as kitchen assistant. I also was annoyed that Jack seemed to be cutting corners. He had bought bacon to put in the turnip greens, but then opted to leave that out. He had called his mom for her famous cornbread recipe, but seemed to be winging that as well. And the beans, well, I won't even go there.

I decided to make a refreshing ice cream pie for back up.

I took a step back and resisted my urge to tell Jack how it ought to be done.

About an hour later, at about 4:30 p.m., Jack told me dinner was ready. That's another thing about men, or at least my man, I don't get. Their appetites are outrageous. I was still stuffed from the lunch we ate three hours earlier. But I smiled, sat at the table and prepared myself to pretend I liked dinner.

I was shocked. The beans were flavorful and delicious, the cornbread was perfect (I really like how the edges had a bit of crunchiness to them), and the turnip greens were also great. They had tons of flavor, even without bacon.

I realized on this day that Jack has a real knack for winging it, unlike myself, who must have a recipe to go by.

It was pointless to ask for his recipe, so I guess it's a good thing I prepared pie, but from what I gathered, Jack's cornbread requires no eggs (just a mixture of Crisco, corn meal and buttermilk). He says you should mix it to a medium thickness and cook it at 475 degrees until the top is golden brown. The beans, which he soaked overnight, cooked all day on the slow cooker (on high for a few hours, then low). He seasoned them with ham hock and salt and pepper. He cooked a huge bag of turnip greens in a big pot that was about a quarter of the way full of water. He boiled the water, added the greens, covered them and cooked them for 35 minutes. Then he poured a bit of hot pepper sauce on them.

Well folks, there you have it ... now I know how to make an inexpensive, somewhat healthy (minus the Crisco!) Southern meal.

Now, for the goodies ... a simple, quick dessert that's perfect for a hot summer evening -- Rocky Road Pie, a recipe I stumbled across online.

Rocky Road Pie

3 cups chocolate ice cream, slightly softened

1 cup fudge ripple ice cream, slightly softened

1 9-inch graham cracker crust

1 cup marshmallow creme

1 cup miniature marshmallows

1 cup chocolate covered peanuts

1 cup frozen whipped topping, thawed

1 cup hot fudge ice cream topping

1 cup candy coated chocolate pieces

Place 1 cup of the chocolate ice cream in the graham cracker crust (or use Cookie Pie Crust, baked and cooled). Top with half of the marshmallow creme, then the fudge ripple ice cream. Add remaining marshmallow creme.

Sprinkle with half the marshmallows and the peanuts. Top with 1 cup of the chocolate ice cream. Sprinkle with rest of marshmallows and peanuts. Top with rest of chocolate ice cream.

Freeze pie, uncovered, for 4-6 hours, until firm. Let stand at room temperature 10 minutes before serving. Top each piece with a dollop of whipped topping, hot fudge topping and candies. Serves 8.

-- Sadie Fowler is lifestyles editor at the Times-Gazette. Simply Delish is published each Sunday. If you would like to submit a recipe, contact Fowler at sfowler@t-g.com or 684-1200 ext. 214.