Georgia Mae Pankey has been a friend of mine for a long time.  No matter when and where I see her, she always greets me with a big smile and something friendly to say, and if you don't know Georgia Mae, you are missing a real treat.  

Recently as we chatted in one of the local stores about cooking, she told me that she was going to send me some recipes, and I was thrilled when I went to the mailbox and found a letter from her.  

As you will see when you read her recipes, many of them incorporate tips and techniques that are just a little different from what one normally sees.  For example, I am thinking particularly about the dressing for her Cranberry Mold and the dressing for the roasted pig.  

The Pankey family is one of those lucky families who have compiled their treasured recipes into a cookbook, and I cannot tell you how happy I am to be able to pass some of them along to you today.  In her letter, Georgia Mae said there are more recipes where these come from. 
I am looking forward to them, and I know you will be, too!  Thanks, Georgia Mae!

The recipes today are mostly from the collection of Georgia Mae Pankey from the Pankey Cookbook.

Potato Salad

2 1/2 cups sliced or cubed cooked potatoes
1 tsp. vinegar
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup mayonnaise
2 hard-cooked eggs, sliced
1 tsp. sugar
1/2 cup chopped onion (optional)
1/4 cup sweet pickles, chopped
1/2 tsp. celery seed

Sprinkle the potatoes with the sugar and the vinegar.  Add onion and celery.  Add pickles, mayonnaise and seasonings and toss to blend.  Gently fold in the egg slices. 
Chill and served in a bowl lined with lettuce leaves and trimmed with egg slices.


Barbecued Whole Pig

Be sure the pig is well cleaned and have the butcher remove all the hair from it. 
First dry the pig outside and inside.  Then rub the pig with meat tenderizer, a little Accent, and salt and pepper. Go lightly on the salt; pork is salty anyway. 

Use seasoning salt, seasoning pepper, Season All and garlic powder.  Rub the pig well with sage. 

It is preferable to season this pig all day before cooking it and let it steep in the refrigerator. 
A meat marinade can also be used.  Follow the directions on the package.  Place the pig over a charcoal fire that is not too hot and cook it for several hours. 

During the first hour, use only white vinegar for basting the pig.  Test for doneness.  It takes about 5-6 hours for an 8-9 pound pig.  Turn the pig often on the grill.


Stuffing for the Barbecued Pig

1 cup chopped apples
5 cups day-old bread crumbs
5 cups corn bread
2 tsp. poultry seasonings
2 sticks butter
1 egg
1 cup chopped onions
1 cup chopped celery
Salt
Pepper
Parsley
2 cups boiling water
Sage

Cook onions and celery for 10 minutes with the two sticks of butter in boiling water.  Mix the remaining ingredients together to make the dressing.  Stuff the pig with the dressing.  Get your butcher to give you some strings to tie up the pig with so that the dressing will not fall our while the pig is cooking.

Do not baste the pig with barbecue sauce until the pig is almost done.


Perfection Salad

2 envelopes unflavored gelatin
1 tsp. of salt
1/2 cup vinegar
1 1/2 cups finely shredded cabbage
1 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup sugar
2 1/2 cups boiling water
2 Tbs. Lemon juice
1/2 cup chopped green pepper

Mix the gelatin with a little cold water.  Melt the gelatin, sugar and salt thoroughly. 

Add boiling water and stir until the sugar dissolves.  Add the vinegar and lemon juice. Cool the mixture, and when it begins to thicken add remaining ingredients. 

Pour the gelatin into individual molds and chill until it is firm.  Unmold on lettuce leaves and garnish with ripe olive halves. 

Makes 10 individual servings or if placed into a loaf pan, eight to 10 servings.  Perfection Salad looks pretty on pieces of lettuce leaves.


Pumpkin Pie

1 1/2 cups canned or mashed, cooked pumpkin
1/2 tsp. salt
3 eggs, slightly beaten
1 16-oz. can evaporated milk
1 9-inch unbaked pastry shell
1 cup sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp.ginger
1/2 tsp. cloves
1 1/4 cup milk

Thoroughly combine the pumpkin, sugar, salt and spices.  Blend in the eggs, milk and evaporated milk. 

Pour this mixture into an unbaked pastry shell.  Have the edges of the pastry shell crimped high as the filling is generous. 

Bake the pie in a hot oven about 400 degrees for 10 minutes and then reduce the temperature to  300 degrees and cook for about 40 more minutes or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. 

Cool before serving.


Cranberry Mold

1 pkg. raspberry gelatin
1/2 cup boiling water
1 1-pound can of cranberry sauce, jellied
1/2 cup chopped nuts
1/2 cup chopped celery
1 cup mayonnaise
2 Tbs. Honey
1 Tbs. Lemon juice
1/2 cup chopped apple

Dissolve the gelatin in hot water and stir in the cranberry sauce.  Chill the mixture until it is slightly thickened.  Fold in the nuts, apple and celery and pour into a mold.  Refrigerate until the gelatin is firm.  Blend the mayonnaise with the honey and lemon juice for the dressing to serve with the salad.


Whiskey Pie

3 dozen macaroons
1/2 pint whipping cream
Bourbon whiskey
2 quarts vanilla ice cream

Line a pan with the macaroons, and pour as much of the whiskey over the macaroons as they will absorb. 

Whip the cream until it is stiff, and flavor highly with the bourbon whiskey. 

Spoon ice cream into the pie pan and then flatten it into the pan.  Spread the whipping cream on top of the filling and then sprinkle the macaroons over the entire pie. 

This pie may be kept in the refrigerator or freezer.

Will serve 8.