Today is President’s Day in America, where we honor our former leaders’ significant legacies by offering discounts on mattresses. While not the most noble way to honor our forefathers, I’ve been employing a seemingly more significant way to honor them, by making meals which correlate to their culinary preferences from when they spent time in office. It’s a great way to get my girls involved in learning some history, after they pick the name from the hat. In the past, before I had a blog, I used to honor one president, but having 2 children interested in this culinary celebration, I’ve had to change it up recently. Last year, they chose Grover Cleveland and Barack Obama; the year prior: the girls chose James Madison and Grover Cleveland.
This year my older daughter chose Rutherford B. Hayes and my younger daughter picked out James Monroe. Like most of the former presidents prior to the late 20th century, they didn’t have any extravagant tastes, instead opting towards very traditional fare. Hayes liked cornmeal pancakes and Monroe really liked spoonbread. However, I didn’t really want to marry those two. Doing more research led me to find he loved traditional Virginia food. What do we have an abundance of here in the greatest Commonwealth? Pigs and apples!
The first time I ever had a cornmeal pancake was at Art & Soul in DC, a restaurant opened by Oprah Winfrey’s former chef, Art Smith (it’s still open if you want to go), in the form of a hoecake. Hoecakes were cooked by field workers, and as you might imagine on a cleaned, fire-heated hoe surface. They’re smaller than your average pancake. You can then top them with anything your heart desires. I went with some smoked pork shoulder, a little apple cider reduction, and a quick apple slaw. Everyone loved them and I think you will too.
Hoecakes with Smoked Pork and Apple Slaw
Pork
½ boneless pork shoulder, prepared like this, but forego the sauce for this dish
Cider Jus
1.5 cups Apple cider
1 tbsp Apple cider vinegar
Cinnamon stick
Hoe Cakes
1.5 cups yellow cornmeal
3/4 cup all purpose flour
3 teaspoons sugar
1.5 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1.5 cups water
3 tablespoons melted butter
Apple Slaw
¼ cup mayonnaise
2 tsp apple cider vinegar
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
1 green and 1 red apple varietal (I went with Granny Smith and McIntosh)
Celery
Poppy seeds
Prepare the pork shoulder as my prior recipe instructs. Once the pork has rested and been pulled, you can prepare the remaining items.
Combine the jus ingredients in a small pot and bring to a boil and reduce by half.
Meanwhile, combine the hoe cake ingredients and whisk together in a bowl until no more dry ingredients can be spotted. It’s ok if it’s a little lumpy. Set aside and preheat a buttered griddle or other non-stick skillet over medium-high heat.
Once warm, add the batter in rough ¼ -cup portions and cook for about 2 mins. Then flip and cook for an additional 90 seconds. Remove and reserve in a warmed oven. This should be enough for 8 hoecakes.
Once the cakes are prepared and holding in the oven, whisk the mayo, vinegar and lemon juice in a bowl, along with a pinch of salt and black pepper, and reserve.
Core and slice the apples ¼” thick. Then stack and cut them into sticks. Mince 1 or 2 celery stalks and stir them all into the dressing, adding in about a tsp of poppy seeds.
Once the jus has reduced, stir some shredded pork into the liquid to sauce the meat.
Place a hoecake (or 2) on a plate and top with some sauced pork, then pile on a little apple slaw and garnish with a celery leaf.
______________________________ Copyright 2023, Brendan McCann, All Rights Reserved.
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