Recipes From Whistle Stop Cafe

FRIED GREEN TOMATOES

Steps:

• In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, cornmeal, salt, pepper, and buttermilk. Use a fork to mix the ingredients into a pancake-like batter. Use more buttermilk to thin the batter, if needed.
• Heat 2 inches of oil in a skillet until hot enough to fry. Dip tomato slices in batter, letting the excess batter drip back into the bowl. Put the dipped slices immediately into the frying pan. The oil should sizzle strongly but not pop when the tomatoes hit the oil-- if the oil pops or splatters, it's too hot. Let it cool down a bit before proceeding.
• Fry the tomato slices in batches of 4 or 5 at a time (don't crowd the pan) for 2-3 minutes per side, turning carefully with tongs when the coating turns golden brown.Transfer to a colander or wire cooling rack to drain. To keep the tomatoes from getting soggy before they're served, Fannie suggest standing them up like wheels in the serving dish instead of stacking them.
• To make the sauce, whisk together the mayonnaise, ketchup, and cayenne in a bowl. Taste and season more, if needed. Serve sauce over the fresh fried green tomatoes.Fried green tomatoes are best eaten fresh out of the frying pan, they will become soggy fast if you don't enjoy them within a few minutes of frying.

WHISTLESTOP CAFE CHICKEN AND DUMPLINGS

Steps:

• Place the chicken in a large, 2 1/2 quart saucepan. Add 6 cups water, salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until very tener. Remove from broth and let cool. Reserve the broth.
• When chicken has cooled off, remove the meat from the bones and dice.
• Next, add milk and margarine to the broth. Bring to a simmer.
• TO MAKE THE DUMPLINGS: Cut the shortening into the flour, using a pastry blender, until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add 1/2 cup water and stir with a fork, just until dough leaves side of bowl. For rolled dumplings roll out dough to 1/8-inch thickness on a lightly floured surface. Cut into 4 x 1/2-inch strips or 2-inch squares. For dropped dumplings, pat dough to 1/2-inch thickness on a lightly floured surface. Pinch off dough to 1 1/2-inch pieces.
• Gradually drop dumplings, one at a time, into boiling broth mixture. Cover, reduce heat and boil gently for 15 minutes, or until dumplings are cooked. Stir occasionally to prevent sticking. Stir in chicken and heat through.

WHISTLE STOP CAFE PIMENTO CHEESE

Steps:

• Combine first 4 ingredients in a food processor; pulse until blended and cheese is processed as fine as you want it.
• Add pimento; pulse just until blended.
• Store in covered container in the refrigerator.