Linda Weiss is an incredibly accomplished chef and food writer whom I have been fortunate enough to get to know through my blog and our mutual love of cooking. If I only lived closer to her, I’d invite her to tea and ask her to teach me how to make some of her favorite Southern dishes. Well, the next best thing is to peruse her cookbook, “Memories From Home: Cooking with Family and Friends.”
John’s Aunt Lib, Grandmother Upchurch, and Aunt Sue |
You all know John is from New Orleans. His mother grew up in Murray, Kentucky, and his dad grew up in Holly Springs, Mississippi. I love listening to stories about his family when he was growing up like how no one can recreate the bread his maternal grandmother, Maggie Upchurch, made every day because her note just said “bread” or “roll” consistency.
I am truly enamored of the South – we don’t hear the word “hospitality” much in California! Since John and I like to cook together, I’ve been trying to learn more about Southern cooking.
I’ve heard of Collard Greens and even had them a few times on trips to the South, but was surprised to find fresh ones for sale at our local farmers’ market. So, I bought two bunches because I knew they would cook down, like spinach. As we began to plan our meal, John said they would be great with ham, and as luck would have it, this week’s French Fridays with Dorie recipe was for Muenster Cheese Souffles – that sounded like a great meal to us!
Southern Comfort |
8 slices bacon, chopped
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 (14.5-ounce) can chicken broth
2 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 Tablespoons brown sugar, firmly packed
1/2 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes
4 pounds collards
Collard Greens rinsed, chopped, and ready to cook |
Remove ribs and stems from collards. Wash collards in three waters. Wash drain, wash drain, wash drain. Cut the collards in a chiffonade. A chiffonade is when several collard leaves are stacked on each other, rolled and them sliced. Leave the collards wet from the washing, and slice the collards about 1/2 inch wide. Set aside. In a Dutch oven, cook bacon until crisp. Remove the bacon and set aside. Add onion to the bacon drippings and cook until caramelized or until slightly browned. Add collards to the onion mixture while collards are still slightly wet. Cover and cook down, stirring occasionally so that the collards won’t burn. When the liquid has cooked out, gradually add the broth as needed to moisten. When collards are tender (we cooked them for about an hour) add the remaining ingredients into the collards. Sprinkle with bacon on top before serving.
Serves 8.
Linda has graciously given me permission to share her recipe with you here. These turned out great! The light sweetness tempered the bitterness of the greens just perfectly. We will absolutely use this recipe again.
Cher Rockwell says
Oh man, you should live up here! I think I was getting collards almost every week in my CSA share the second half of summer up till now. I have more collard green pesto in my freezer than any one person should have 🙂
Love the family photograph.
Adriana says
I’m a fan of the more modern collards recipes that don’t wilt them into submission but the combination of flavors in the classic recipe is tough to beat. I wish I had talked to John more about dear old NOLA at the conference!
Liz Berg says
What a spectacular meal of pure comfort! I had my first collard greens only a couple of years ago when we were in Savannah, GA…and they were cooked with bacon, too! SO good.
Chris Scheuer says
Did you start speaking with a southern drawl after this dinner? 🙂 It looks wonderful Susan, grandma would be proud!
Betsy says
I also got tons of collards in my CSA share this summer. I wish you’d share this recipe earlier in the season. Looks delicious!
Velva says
There a million varieties to make collards and they are probably all delightful . I had smoked turkey wings cook in the juices with the collards, Followed by some pepper vinegar sauce…It is delightful.
Laura (Tutti Dolci) says
I’ve never tried collard greens but this recipe sounds so flavorful and delicious!
Cocoa and Lavender says
The collard greens sound amazing! I love them but have never had them with bacon. Bacon with ham? What could POSSIBLY be wrong with that? I do have a question, though… Did you use the muenster cheese that we get in the supermarket? Andrea – our Lioness friend – used some sort of special muenster that I don’t think I will be able to find….
Emily says
An amazing meal indeed! Great looking souffles!
grace says
this pretty much sounds like an ideal meal to me. once again, your souffles are glorious. 🙂
Mary Hirsch says
I think with Linda’s recipe and your picture, I need to go back and try again. When I lived in the South, I learned to love okra with tomatoes, the slimier the better and hush puppies and other fried foods. Collard greens, not so much. This meal looks delicious.