BY ANN CIPPERLY /FOR THE OBSERVER
Situated at the end of a long driveway, the classic southern home of Kathryn and Bryan Blackburn sits stately amidst a manicured lawn against a backdrop of deep forest. The Blackburns have a fondness for older homes but wanted to have the conveniences and comforts of a new house. Kathryn especially enjoys her large modern kitchen at Blackburn Plantation where she creates homemade jellies, bakes sourdough bread and cooks delectable meals using treasured family recipes passed down for generations.
Kathryn has deep roots in Auburn. Her parents, Tom and Bettye Mathison Lowe, both grew up in Auburn. Her dad’s father was a professor and head of the civic engineering department at API, now Auburn University.
Her mother’s father, who had been a sharecropper in south Alabama, came to Auburn University to be in charge of the dairy farm and taught the ROTC program. On her mother’s side, Kathryn is related to John Ed and George Mathison, two well-known ministers in the area.
After Kathryn’s father graduated in engineering at Auburn, her parents married in 1950. They lived in Eugene, Oregon, and Jackson, Mississippi, before settling in Atlanta, Georgia. Her father was the Fulton County Commissioner, and her mother served in the House of Representatives.
While Kathryn grew up in Atlanta in an old house, she spent a lot of time in Auburn visiting her grandparents during summer helping to shell peas and picking corn from their garden at the farm. Later she visited for football weekends.
Her grandmother was a wonderful southern cook. Kathryn said she remembers big Thanksgiving meals with all the family. It was always like a second home to her, she said, and her grandmother taught her a lot about cooking.
Kathryn also learned how to cook from her mother, who enjoyed cooking and entertained often. While her mother would sometimes cook the entire meal for parties, later she had caterers assist with large groups. Her mother was well organized and adapted recipes. Kathryn learned from her mother how to adjust recipes and recreate dishes from restaurants.
After high school, Kathryn attended Auburn University. She began dating Bryan, who was friends with her older brother. Bryan, who is from Newnan, Georgia, is a financial consultant with Morgan Stanley. His mother and grandmother were also good cooks.
Kathryn and Bryan have two grown daughters, Katy and Elizabeth. Katy, who lives in Auburn, works for the Marsh and McLennan Agency, which was formerly J. Smith Lanier. She also has Make It Perfect Event Planning and is co-owner of the Auburn Food and Wine Festival. Elizabeth resides in Boston, Massachusetts, and is senior product manager for Intelycare.
When the girls were growing up, Elizabeth showed horses across the country, while Katy was a competitive cheerleader that kept Kathryn busy.
The Blackburns said they enjoy their home, which is reminiscent of ones in Natchez, Mississippi, with elegant rooms throughout. One of Kathryn’s favorite rooms is the library, which also houses her cookbook collection. Kathryn uses her mother’s cookbook called “the bible of cooking” that is falling apart with so much use and notes. It is a 1946 edition of “Joy of Cooking.” Since it is falling apart, she has gotten a newer copy to use.
The farm is located on many acres outside Auburn where the family hunts and does timber farming. They have two horses and abundant wild life. They host a dove shoot in the fall with friends coming from out-of-town for the weekend. Kathryn prepares a country breakfast before the shoot starts and Smothered Quail for dinner, using a recipe from Brian’s family.
Kathryn said she enjoys making jelly in the fall and has been making it since she was a little girl. Kathryn has happy memories of picking blackberries and plums to make jellies with her grandmother, and her mother also made jellies.
Kathryn is carrying on that tradition with making apple and scuppernong jellies. Kathryn picked Dolgo Crab Apples at Bryan’s mother’s house for making jelly. Now, they have Dolgo Crab Apples and scuppernongs for making homemade jelly to give for gifts.
One of Bryan’s grandmother’s recipes that Kathryn prepares often is her Seafood Casserole, and everyone asks for the recipe. She said she enjoys sharing her family recipes as they are so good, and would like for others to enjoy them too. Kathryn usually doubles the seafood recipe and makes it at Thanksgiving and Christmas. For crab, she will use canned lump crab that she drains.
Syllabub is another of Bryan’s grandmother’s recipes. Bryan remembers when he was a child plunging the mixture to beat it until it was fluffy since they didn’t have a mixer. Kathryn has used sweet and dry sherry in the recipe, and they both work.
Bryan’s grandmother would make the Apple Pie in a Cast Iron Skillet. Elizabeth enjoys cooking and adapted the recipe. It makes a delicious dessert.
The Corn Souffle was Kathryn’s mother’s recipe that fluffs up while baking, but will sink down after it is removed from the oven. The yummy dish was always served at holidays too.
One of Kathryn’s favorite dishes for entertaining, she said, is the marinated Grilled Bourbon Pork Tenderloin. The bourbon marinade flavors the pork, and the meat is very tender.
When Kathryn tries a dish at a restaurant she likes, she will ask questions about the ingredients and recreate it at home, she said.. One of those is the Breakfast for Dinner that she tried at a Nashville restaurant. While the brie melts nicely and goes well with the egg and sourdough bread, another cheese can be used. It is an easy recipe to have when you don’t have time to cook much.
The Lobster Stew is another recipe she assembled after trying the dish in Maine. She orders lobster from Maine, but frozen lobster tails can be purchased locally. This dish is wonderful during the holidays. It is different from lobster bisque since the lobster meat is in chunks.
The 12 Days of Christmas is her mother’s recipe, and she said she can remember her mother talking to Katie and Elizabeth telling them how to make it.
“We always thought food brought us together,” said Kathryn. “I remember growing up when we would have my cousins, aunts and uncles come together for holidays and thank the Lord for our food.
“To me, it is so wonderful to prepare food for someone who enjoys it, and it brings everyone together. That is what it did for me growing up and my mom. Now mine and Bryan’s parents have passed away. We are trying to instill that in the girls, and they want to come home and bring friends.
“During the pandemic, Elizabeth brought six friends from MIT who were from other countries. They had always heard about southern hospitality, and they enjoyed being here.
“Food has always brought us together, and home is heart loving and warm.”
Bryan’s Grandmother’s Seafood Casserole
Ruth Cole Blackburn
1 cup small, cooked shrimp
McCormick’s shrimp boil
1 cup crabmeat (can use canned, drained) 1 cup breadcrumbs softened with 1 cup light cream
1 cup mayonnaise ½ tsp. salt ½ tsp. pepper
5 hard-boiled eggs, sieved
2 Tbsp. chopped parsley
¼ tsp. red pepper
2 tsp. grated onion
Extra breadcrumbs for topping
Butter to dot top of breadcrumbs
Cook shrimp in water seasoned with McCormick’s shrimp boil. Drain well. Mix all ingredients together and pour into a 2-quart casserole dish. Top with breadcrumbs and dot with butter.
Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Works well to double recipe for a larger crowd.
Shadow Oak Plantation Brunswick Stew
This is a favorite we found at Shadow Oak in south Georgia when we went to hunt quail.
Recipe From the caretaker Tim Balch
3 cups diced onion
2 Tbsp. minced garlic
½ lb. salted butter
1 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 Tbsp. ground black pepper
1 Tbsp. salt
¼ cup Worcestershire sauce
½ cup Carolina barbecue sauce (vinegar)
½ cup sweet barbecue sauce
½ cup spicy barbecue sauce
2 cans chopped tomatoes
1 lb. pulled pork
½ lb. chicken
½ lb. wild turkey breast
½ lb. smoked beef brisket
1 qt. baby lima beans
1 qt. yellow corn
1 qt. chicken broth
Sauté onion and garlic in salted butter in a large soup pan. Stir in peppers, salt and Worcestershire sauce. Add barbecue sauces and chopped tomatoes, heating gradually to a boil.
Add meats and then lima beans, corn and chicken broth. Simmer for about 20 minutes and serve.
Grilled Bourbon Pork Tenderloin
2 1 lb. pork tenderloins
Marinade:
¼ cup soy sauce
¼ cup bourbon
¼ cup olive oil
¼ cup honey
¼ cup brown sugar
½ cup chopped onion
1 head garlic, minced
3 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
1 Tbsp. each salt and pepper
Combine marinade ingredients into a 1 gallon freezer Ziplock bag. Add pork and marinate for at least 8 hours turning occasionally. Remove pork and reserve the marinade.
Grill for about 15 minutes each side, basting with the reserved liquid, or until done. Do not overcook. Take of grill and let sit for about 10 minutes before slicing.
Cast Iron Skillet Apple Pie
Elizabeth Blackburn
1/2 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
5 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, quartered and thinly sliced
3 (9-inch) piecrusts (homemade or refrigerated pre-rolled)
1 cup white sugar, divided
2 tsp. ground cinnamon, divided
1/4 cup white sugar
1 Tbsp. butter, cut into small chunks
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Place 1/2 cup butter into a heavy cast iron skillet and melt butter in the oven. Remove skillet and sprinkle with all of brown sugar; return to oven to heat while you prepare the apples.
Remove skillet, and place 1 refrigerated piecrust on top of the brown sugar. Top piecrust with half the sliced apples. Sprinkle apples with 1/2 cup of sugar and 1 tsp. of cinnamon; place a second pie crust over the apples; top the second crust with the remaining apples, and sprinkle with 1/2 cup sugar and 1 tsp. cinnamon.
Top with the third crust; sprinkle the top crust with 1/4 cup sugar, and dot with 1 Tbsp. of butter. Cut 4 slits into top crust for steam.
Bake in the preheated oven until the apples are tender and crust is golden brown, about 45 minutes. Serve warm.
Bryan’s Grandmother’s Syllabub
Ruth Cole Blackburn
1 ½ qt. heavy cream
1 qt. milk
1 ½ cups sherry, sweet or dry
1 ¾ cups sugar
Mix and then let stand about 3 hours. Churn into a frothy drink, or use a mixer to whip it.
Toasty Brie and Egg
1 Tbsp. butter
1 thick slice sourdough bread
1 egg
Salt and ground black pepper to taste
1 thick slice brie (about 2 oz.)
Sprig fresh thyme
In a large skillet over medium-high, melt butter. Place bread in the skillet and toast until bottom is crisp and just turning golden, about 3 to 4 minutes. Flip the bread to toast other side, pushing it to one side of the pan.
Crack the egg into the other side of the pan. Season it with salt and pepper. About 1 minute before the egg is cooked to desired doneness, place brie on bread. Transfer the egg, sunny side up, onto brie. Cover skillet and cook for another minute.
Serve immediately.
Bayou Hot Chicken Dip
1 Tbsp. unsalted butter
2 cups shredded, cooked chicken
1/2 cup Louisiana-style hot sauce (we used Crystal Hot Sauce)
1 tsp. lime juice
1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
4 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
1/4 cup Blue Plate® mayonnaise
3/4 cup cheddar cheese, finely shredded, divided
1/2 cup pepper jack cheese, finely shredded
1 Tbsp. scallions, thinly sliced
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Butter an 8-inch cast-iron skillet or baking dish.
Heat skillet over medium heat, add chicken and hot sauce and cook until the sauce has slightly thickened, about 2 to 3 minutes. Remove skillet from heat.
Add lime juice, Worcestershire, cream cheese, mayonnaise, 1/2 cup of the cheddar and pepper jack cheese and mix until well combined. Sprinkle remaining 1/4 cup cheddar over top.
Bake, uncovered, until bubbling around the edges and cheese is melted. To brown the top, broil for 2 minutes.
Remove from oven, garnish with scallions and serve with chips, toast points or sliced vegetables such as carrots, celery or bell peppers. Makes 8 to 10 servings.
Kathryn’s Mom’s Corn Souffle
3 eggs
3/8 cup (¼ cup plus 2 Tbsp.) sugar
½ cup all-purpose flour
1 ½ tsp. salt
1 ⅛ tsp. baking powder
3 cups heavy cream
2 cups fresh or frozen (thawed) yellow corn
1 Tbsp. melted butter
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 2 qt. baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. In the bowl of a mixer beat eggs and sugar at medium speed for 3 minutes. Add flour, salt and baking powder and beat an additional 3 minutes. Stir in cream. Add corn and melted butter and stir to combine.
Pour mixture into the prepared dish. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until lightly browned and puffed on top and set in the center. Cool on a wire rack for 15 to 20 minutes before serving.
Creamy White Chicken Chili
3-4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, uncooked
1 1/2 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. onion powder
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
Dash of cayenne pepper
14.5 oz. can chicken broth
4.5 oz. can chopped green chiles
15 oz. can white corn, drained
2 15.5 oz. cans white beans, drained (Cannellini or Great Northern
3 Tbsp. butter
3 Tbsp. flour
1 cup milk
1 tsp. Better Than Bullion chicken base
1/4 tsp. white pepper
1/2 tsp. seasoned salt
1/2 cup sour cream
Place chicken breasts on the bottom of a crockpot, and add chili powder, cumin, onion powder, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, chicken broth, green chiles, corn and beans. Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours.
About an hour before serving: In a small saucepan, melt butter over medium high heat. Whisk in flour and allow to bubble and brown a bit. After a few minutes, gradually whisk in the milk and chicken base.
Allow the sauce to simmer for 4-5 minutes, whisking frequently until it is slightly thickened. Add salt and pepper.
Pour sauce into crockpot and mix to combine.
Add sour cream and mix.
If chicken has not already shredded with stirring, take out large pieces, shred them with two forks, and return to crockpot.
Let chicken chili cook on low 1 more hour, if you can.
I did this in a large pot on stove instead. Brown chicken first and cut up or get a rotisserie chicken and cut off bone.
If cooking on stove, add ingredients up to butter and cook for a while; then add butter and those ingredients.
Julia Blackburn’s Oyster Casserole
2 pints fresh jarred oysters
4 cups medium Ritz cracker crumbs
1 cup melted butter
1 ½ cups half & half
½ cup oyster liqueur(the liquid from the oyster jars)
½ tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
Preheat oven to 360 degrees. Drain oysters, reserving ½ cup oyster liqueur. In a large bowl, combine cracker crumbs and butter. Spread ⅓ of cracker mixture into the bottom of a 9”x13” casserole dish and top with ½ of oysters. Sprinkle with pepper. Repeat these steps once more.
Combine half and half, oyster liqueur, Worcestershire sauce and salt. Pour liquid mixture over top of layers in casserole dish. Top with remaining crackers.
Bake for 55 to 60 minutes or until top is golden and edges are bubbly.
Let cool 15 minutes before serving.
Lobster Stew
4 Tbsp. salted butter
1 large shallot, finely chopped
1 tsp. lobster base
1 tsp. salt
2 cups (about 1 lb.) cooked lobster meat
1 tsp. sherry
2 cups light cream
1 cup milk
Melt butter in a pot. Add shallots and simmer until they soften, about 5 minutes. Add lobster base and salt. Stir and add lobster meat and sherry. Stir for 5 minutes or more until lobster meat warms through. Add cream and milk and simmer 15 minutes until hot. Do not let it boil. It’s best when made a day ahead. Refrigerate and reheat.
I usually double the recipe.
12 Days of Christmas Cookies
From Gram
Bettye Mathison Lowe
1 ¼ sticks real butter
6 heaping Tbsp. confectioners’ sugar
2 Tbsp. ice water
1 Tbsp. vanilla
1 cup chopped pecans
Pinch of salt
Flour for stiff dough – about 2 cups + or – more or less
Mix softened butter, vanilla, salt and water. Add flour. Blend well with hands. Add nuts for stiff dough. Divide in 3 balls. Put in refrigerator for 1 hour.
Use 1 ball at a time.
Shape into finger (your mother’s) size cookies.
Bake on ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake at 250 degrees for 1 hour or longer. Check doneness.
When done they will be slightly brown and slightly crisp. Check by eating one now and then. Your Daddy can help with that part.
Put confectioners’ sugar in brown bag. Dump cookies in and shake. The more you bake the better you get.
Blackburns’ Smothered Quail
12 quail
12 Tbsp. butter
1 onion, finely chopped
3 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
2 ½ cups chicken broth
Couple shakes of Worcestershire sauce
½ cup sherry
Salt and pepper to taste
Brown quail in a skillet with the butter. Remove quail to baking dish. Add the onion and cook until slightly brown. Add flour and stir well. Slowly add chicken broth, sherry, Worcestershire, salt and pepper. Blend well. You can add more flour and chicken broth if needed. Pour over quail. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.
Serve over rice or with steamed veggies. Adjust seasonings to your taste.
Cajun Shrimp Pasta
Any of these amounts can be adjusted. I have used cooked gulf shrimp from the seafood department or even the frozen. Just remember to add the Cajun seasoning and just flash them in the skillet to coat with seasonings. You can keep the pasta separate from shrimp sauce until you plate it. That makes it easier to store leftovers.
1 medium shallot or ¼ medium onion
4 cloves garlic
½ cup fresh parsley, chopped (don’t use dried)
¼ cup Parmesan cheese plus more for garnishing
6-7 oz. andouille sausage
1 lb. raw jumbo gulf shrimp peeled and deveined
1 Tbsp. Cajun seasoning
2 Tbsp. canola oil
1 ½ cups heavy cream
Salt
Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Meanwhile, finely chop onion and garlic cloves and set in small bowl. Finely chop leaves of parsley bunch until you have ½ cup. Cut andouille sausage into ⅓ inch thick rounds. Pat peeled shrimp dry and place in a bowl. Add Cajun seasoning and toss to evenly coat. You can add more.
Add pasta to boiling water, cook until al dente about 8 to 12 minutes. Reserve about 1 cup of the liquid. Drain pasta. While pasta is cooking, heat 1 Tbsp. of oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet with high sides. Add sausage and cook until golden brown, about 5 minutes. With a slotted spoon, move sausage to a large bowl.
Reduce heat to medium and add the shrimp. Cooked until pink and cooked through, about 2 to 3 minutes per side. Transfer shrimp to bowl with sausage.
Add rest of\oil and add onions and garlic to skillet. Cook until onions are translucent and garlic golden, about 2 to 3 minutes.
Add Parmesan, heavy cream, ½ cup pasta water and half of parsley. Stir to combine and simmer. Return shrimp and sausage and any accumulated juices to skillet and stir.
Add pasta to skillet and toss until coated and sauce has thickened. If sauce is too thick add a little more pasta water. Taste, and you can add some more Cajun seasoning if you want a little more spice.
Garnish with Parmesan cheese and parsley on top.