Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1892-01-21
POSTUM AND SWEET POTATO

FooouM AND SWEET POTATO
some information About National Dish
Of the South.
A clear, cold autumn morning, a1,;s
STIR and expectancy in the .ouartars ),
ior all night long the young men of the
family have been out 'possum hunting:
sunury favorites from among the in
haoltants of these same Quarters have
accompanied them. Presently a merry
snout, end the tramp of approachinp
1arUotsteps give warnings of the return.
men follows sight nowhere to be seen
save IN the South. The small lry dance
ana caper about among the baying
MOUNDS; every negro who can find his
way tnltner comes to swell the merry
iloWu gathering around the successful
hunting party. Even the decrepit old
held-hands, long since relegated to the
Warmest chimney corner ard the mrs
ing OF the latest arrivals from negro
oapy-land,. manage to hobble to the
door, their wrinkled, ash-powdered
faces rejecting the common Joy. There
Is an exciting squabb1e for the honor Of
totlng the 'possums to the kitchen.
and small hands are stretched forth on
all sides, while cries of "Iemme tote
as we're one, Mars Tom, please. sir ~
I'LL the air, and proud, indeed. are those
to whom preference is shown.
Ii there Is but one 'possum killed, O
course, 1t Is dressed tor 1.-the house."
and some other dainty provided for the
servants. But that day is truly marked
Wltn Whlte stone, on which all, both,
Wn,te ana black, are permitted a feast
OF ,,possum and sweet potatoes. Aunt
Chloe's face assumes an expression Of
proud solemnity suited to the occasion
as she receives the "plump denizen of
the leafy woods" and proceedsto prepare
him for the table. First of all, his hairy
coat NJ ust be scaled and scraped clean;
this is accomplished by repeated plung-
lnes into hot water in which q handful
of wood ashes has been dissolved, and
to one OF the children is relegated the
business of scraping, if the cook is over
Whelmed with work, with earnest in
functions not to break the skin. .-- -,,s
When the animal is ready for the
kettle, he is rubbed thoroughly with
sweet lard, then spread open upon
bed of sweet potatoes, which have been
not only washed clean but scraped al
SO, to remove the outer skin and tiny
root threads. The potatoes, placed
under and all around the 'possum
in the largest bake-kettle, become
crisp and burn in short while,
covered as they are with the
fat which comes from every pore Of the
animal. A large bed of glowing Goals is
drawn out from beneath the burning
logs, covered with layer of ashes, and
on this the bake-kettle is placed; it's
cover being adjusted, another bed of
Goals and ashes is laid on it, only in re-
verse order, the ashes being placed on
the cover and the Goals on them. One
of the older children row seats herself
on the floor beside the kettle, pot
cover litter in one hand and a long iron
spoon in the other; enthusiastically
she raises the cover carefully, bastes
the possum in its own gravy (or, lack
ing enough of that, with melted lard y
and replaces it, adding Goals from time
to time as needed. The cook, mean
while, is not idle. Out of cornmeal.
softened to thick paste with cold
water. seasoned with little salt, she
has made a quantity of "pones" the
breadth and length of her hand: these,
bearing the impress of her five fingers,
she lays in another bake-kettle, re-
moving when nicely Drowned on
either side to make room for another
supply. To keep them warm, she ar
ranges them in piles on the hearth,
turning them frequently to prevent
burning.
OF course they are sometimes sprink-
led with ashes, but to eaters OF ashe-
cake what does that matter? and if
there were not plenty Of ''cawn pones
to wallup in de 'possum gravy" the ne7s
groes, at least, would rebel. The night
before Aunt Chloe washed a quantity
of dried apples and placed them in an
earthen "crock," in conner of the
fireplace; plenty of cold water was
poured over them, and as soon as thor
oughly soft, sugar and spice were liber-
allv added; in the opposite corner,
crock of snowy rice has received like
treatment, save that, in place OF sugar
and spice, salt has been used for season
ing. At the right moment a large plat
ter receives the delicately Drowned pos
sum, the potatoes are piled up around
his shining sides, like faithful body
guard. With all due ceremony he is
borne 10 the table by no less dignltary
than Aunt Chloe herself.
Placed on the table in front OF the
master, he is fanked on either side by
the rice and apples, while the corn pones,,
together with homemade pickles and
catsups. are scattered here and there
about the board. The carver whets his
knife, with a pleasant smile, which
madame returns with interest, the
young men and women pass the merry
tests back and forth, the children wrig-
gle expectantly in their seats, impa-
tiently awaiting their share of the feast as
while behind the masters chair the
waters ebony face beams jovially on
the happy group. All! roast turkey is
GOOD ditto ducks and geese; oysters
and terrapin are not bad, but for an all
round, merry, sou-satlstylng least,
south of Mason and D1xon's line, give
us 'possum and sweet potatoes dooo
Housekeepin0.